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Hi! I'm Rick Lane, and you mightiness retrieve maine from specified columns arsenic Reality Bytes, RPS' erstwhile monthly goggle astatine the satellite of virtual reality. I've spent the past mates of years trapped betwixt the 2nd and 3rd dimensions, my flattened assemblage doomed to everlastingly rotation to look the camera. But RPS has whipped retired its bicycle pump and popped maine backmost into stereoscopic 3D, truthful I tin seek revenge tell you each astir the authorities of VR successful 2026.
And boy, what a state! The headlines marque for grim reading. VR headset shipments are successful decline. Notable VR studios are either laying radical disconnected oregon being unopen down outright. And VR's hitherto biggest champion is going each Distracted Boyfriend, ogling passing marketplace trends successful its ethically dubious astute glasses.
The all-in-one Steam Frame headset is connected the mode - precise soon, if rumours are to beryllium believed - but successful short, things don't look great. Then again, things don't look large anywhere in the games industry, truthful wherefore should VR, gaming's astir niche market, beryllium immoderate different? To genuinely recognize the authorities of the VR scene, we request to effort to abstracted the generally bad from the specifically bad. When we bash that, it becomes wide that VR broadly isn't faring immoderate worse than the manufacture astatine large, and successful immoderate areas astatine least, is healthier than you mightiness expect.
Let's commencement with the hardware itself. As I mentioned, shipments of VR headsets are presently successful decline, with a 17% driblet successful shipments successful the archetypal 4th of 2026. That's a steep drop, though it's worthy bearing successful caput the VR headset marketplace hasn't been particularly good fed successful the past mates of years.
Between 2019 and 2023, Wikipedia lists 12 VR headsets having launched, including each 3 Meta Quests. Since 2024, it lists conscionable 2 headset launches: the Apple Vision Pro, and the Samsung Galaxy XR. This database does disregard immoderate high-end headsets similar those manufactured by Pimax. But specified devices are a niche wrong a niche, improbable to relationship for a immense fig of sales.
With a dearth of caller product, it's understandable that radical won't beryllium buying arsenic galore headsets. But the quality of the devices being launched tells different communicative - 1 of a wide displacement distant from the mid-range, all-in-one gaming headset. HTC, astatine 1 constituent Meta's superior rival successful VR's mediate ground, has seemingly abandoned headset improvement entirely, portion caller headsets similar the Vision Pro and the Galaxy XR were not designed with gaming foremost successful mind.
Instead, VR devices person shifted progressively to the extremes. At 1 end, you person a knotty premix of AR/XR goggles and AI-powered Smart Glasses taking the bones of VR tech and applying it to different functions (like signaling radical without their cognition oregon consent). At the different end, you person the premium devices similar Pimax's headsets, eking a nett retired of established VR converts and hardcore simulation enthusiasts consenting to walk thousands connected a caller device.
This whitethorn conscionable beryllium a impermanent situation. New, theoretically mid-range hardware is coming down the pipe. The question is whether it volition inactive beryllium mid-range by the clip it arrives, and whether those devices volition beryllium capable to revert the downward inclination of headset sales.
With nary meaningful contention to talk of, Meta's dominance of the VR marketplace has continued unabated. Combined, the Quest 3, Quest 2, and Quest 3S correspond much than 2 thirds of the VR idiosyncratic basal connected Steam, portion Valve's ain Index is utilized by conscionable 11% of VR players.
Meta's ain VR gaming ecosystem besides seems comparatively healthy, though we lone person Meta's connection for this. In 2023, reports claimed that Meta saw implicit 6 cardinal monthly progressive Quest users. According to the company, Quest usage has grown consistently since then, and was astatine its highest ever arsenic of 2025.
Apparently, income of games connected the Meta's Horizon Store were "up precise slightly" successful 2025, which seems retired of kilter with the broader games industry's amazingly awesome show past year. However, Meta's income figures whitethorn beryllium affected by the Horizon Store+ subscription service, Meta's equivalent to Game Pass, which present has implicit 1 cardinal subscribers to Horizon Store+.
While each of this is positive, it's important to enactment this discourse of Meta's broader VR market. Only 1% of each Steam users play VR games, which includes Quest users, Valve Index players, and radical inactive moving connected HTC Vive.
With the Horizon Store, Meta has the vantage of a captive audience, but determination is inactive a question implicit however viable an endeavor VR gaming is for its biggest fish. Meta said that past year, the fig of apps that made much than $1 cardinal successful gross gross connected the Horizon store past twelvemonth was implicit 100. To beryllium clear, that's all apps for all time, not caller apps released successful 2025. Nonetheless, that's a minimum of $100 cardinal from the Horizon Store, and immoderate games, similar the wildly palmy Beat Saber, apt made importantly much than $1 million.
In isolation, then, the Meta store seems to beryllium a dependable earner. But it's important to origin successful the galactic boondoggle that is Meta's failed pursuit of the Metaverse. Reality Labs has chalked up a staggering $80 cardinal successful operating losses - and astatine that little estimate, those 1 100 apps would person to proceed earning $1 cardinal successful gross for 800 years successful bid for Reality Labs to interruption even.
Obviously, Meta person much wealth coming successful than that, but astatine $402 cardinal successful income this 4th versus much than $4 cardinal successful operating losses, the numbers inactive don't adhd up. As such, Meta yet admitted decision connected the VR broadside of Horizon Worlds successful June, shutting it down arsenic a virtual world level (Horizon Worlds continues to beryllium arsenic a smartphone experience, wherever it does astatine slightest marque some money).
Sadly, Horizon Worlds VR wasn't the lone casualty of the Metaverse fiasco. In January, Meta unopen down 3 VR studios, including the creators of Asgard's Wrath and Resident Evil 4 VR. They besides cancelled a sequel to the fantabulous Batman: Arkham Shadow and ended its enactment for Quest for Business - aka VR for boring people.
All of this has led to questions astir however overmuch of a precedence VR is astatine Meta, particularly arsenic they put heavy successful AI (which is besides not going well) and Reality Labs switches absorption from the Metaverse to astute glasses. Despite this, Meta themselves accidental they hasn't mislaid involvement successful VR yet, stating that their concern successful aboriginal VR headsets "remains large", with caller devices presently successful development.
For the abbreviated to mean term, VR's aboriginal looks comparatively unchangeable wrong Meta's ain ecosystem. Outside of that bubble, however, things are considerably tougher. Alongside the workplace closures initiated by Meta, galore different notable VR developers person struggled this year. Mighty Eyes, developers of the VR Adventure, Wanderer: Fragments of Fate, cancelled a planned sequel and ended enactment for the existent game. Survios, the creators of Alien: Rogue Incursion, laid disconnected astir of their improvement squad successful April. That aforesaid month, the societal VR gaming level Rec Room announced it was closing successful June, aft the developers admitted they had struggled to marque it a profitable business. Rec Room, it should beryllium noted, was 1 of the astir fashionable VR apps connected Steam.
The large occupation for PCVR devs is elemental visibility. Games released connected the Meta store person the vantage of an assemblage primed for VR games. But connected Steam, VR developers are competing with every other crippled connected the platform, and VR games are astatine an automatic disadvantage due to the fact that of their specializer hardware requirements. Even wrong their ain VR category, bespoke VR games indispensable vie with already palmy flatscreen games that besides enactment VR, similar Phasmophobia, Skyrim, and No Man's Sky.
The operation of the visibility contented and the overmuch smaller assemblage is besides wherefore tentpole games similar Half-Life: Alyx and Asgard's Wrath 2 are rare. Games of that scope person budgets successful the tens and hundreds of millions, and unless you person a instrumentality to sell, arsenic Valve and Meta did with some of those games, developers request to maximise the imaginable assemblage for it.
Meta themselves said arsenic overmuch successful their ain state-of-VR article, observing that "The big-budget AAA Hollywood benignant communicative games are simply excessively costly for today's market." Hence, specified games volition either beryllium exclusively flatscreen oregon diagnostic VR arsenic an option, though each 1 of these which does win makes it adjacent harder for VR exclusive games to interruption through.
This watering down of VR exclusivity besides means that bona-fide slayer apps for VR are fewer and acold between. While 2026 has delivered a fewer moderately absorbing titles, similar Into the Radius 2, the endurance crippled Bootstrap Island, and Little Nightmares VR, nary are apt to gully radical backmost to VR en masse. Similarly, determination are a fewer absorbing projects successful the works, similar Payday: Aces High and Hot Dogs, Horseshoes & Hand Grenades 2. But these games look an tremendous conflict to to wrest attraction distant from the mainstream flatscreen experiences.
What does each this mean, then, for the impending merchandise of Valve's Steam Frame? Well, an injection of caller hardware surely wouldn't wounded the VR market, but the grade of its interaction is going to beryllium highly babelike connected respective factors. The archetypal is price. While the archetypal program was to marque the Frame cheaper than the £919 Index, consequent hardware shortages (precipitated by AI information centres gobbling up each escaped SSD and instrumentality of RAM) are apt to person a important interaction connected the caller headset's price, with reports suggesting it could outgo arsenic overmuch arsenic $1,500 (£1,120). That would footwear it good retired of the territory occupied by the Quest 3, putting it person to the specializer headsets made by Pimax.
The different origin is: what are you going to play connected it? The property of excitement implicit VR for its ain involvement has good and genuinely passed, and if those reported prices are accurate, the Steam Frame is improbable to entreaty to anyone who hasn't bought into VR already. Which leaves games arsenic the main draw. Again, though, determination aren't truly immoderate big, glossy VR exclusives knocking astir that are apt to tempt radical into dropping a 1000 notes connected a caller headset. Put different way, nobody's going to bargain a Steam Frame to play Gorilla Tag.
No uncertainty each VR enthusiast (myself included) is hoping that Valve has thing other successful the tank—an equivalent of Half-Life: Alyx to truly amusement disconnected the Steam Frame's capabilities. Unfortunately, there's small to suggest this is the case. When akin questions circulated astir the Steam Machine, Valve said they viewed the full Steam room arsenic its motorboat exclusive. Plus, the Steam Frame is being marketed not just arsenic a VR headset but arsenic a PC, capable to play VR and non-VR games either done streaming oregon arsenic a standalone device.
As such, I don't spot the Steam Frame changing the signifier of the VR marketplace successful immoderate meaningful way. And until Valve tin physique a instrumentality that tin efficaciously vie with Meta connected price, it volition proceed to play 2nd fiddle to the Quest connected its ain platform.
All of this said, VR gaming is not dead. While the Steam Frame is improbable to radically alteration the VR landscape, Valve person capable of an assemblage that the headset volition astir apt beryllium palmy connected its ain terms. Meta, meanwhile, intelligibly sees capable worth successful the Quest and Horizon+ for astatine slightest 1 much instrumentality iteration.
What signifier the aboriginal of VR gaming volition instrumentality is harder to define. For VR to reignite large-scale interest, it needs games that tin vie with your premium flatscreen experiences, your Half-Life, your Boneworks, your Asgard's Wrath. It appears few, if any, developers are consenting to instrumentality connected that level of risk.
Meta judge that the aboriginal is successful smaller multiplayer fare aimed teenagers, the VR equivalents of games similar Peak and R.E.P.O., of which Gorilla Tag is astir apt one. Those games are decidedly much affordable to make, but the hardware besides needs to beryllium affordable for that demographic too, which is going to beryllium progressively hard to support implicit the adjacent fewer years.
Personally, I reckon that, abbreviated of a landscape-altering event, VR volition yet beryllium subsumed into the broader games manufacture arsenic an alternate mode to play, nary antithetic from buying a steering instrumentality for your racing games oregon a HOTAS for your formation sims. The Steam Frame's hybrid quality is emblematic of this successful immoderate ways. Rather than being a VR headset, it's a headset that does VR if you privation it to. It'll beryllium absorbing to spot however PC players respond to that.
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