Over the past five years, the XR scene has undergone quite the transformation. Standalone headsets have surged in popularity, bringing along new players like Apple and Google’s anticipated entry. Amidst these changes, the PC VR platform has continued its slow yet certain growth.
If someone had told me in early 2020 about all the developments in VR, I might have been skeptical. For starters, Facebook rebranded to Meta and decided to phase out the ‘Oculus’ brand—a name that had been synonymous with VR for both enthusiasts and casual onlookers. Yet, despite these shifts, Meta successfully turned its standalone Quest headset into the top VR platform.
On top of that, Apple jumped into the VR market with a headset priced at a whopping $3,500, and Google isn’t far behind with an Android XR operating system for a flagship headset by Samsung. And then there’s Microsoft, which chose to discontinue its Windows MR platform and bid farewell to HoloLens—okay, maybe that part I saw coming.
Nevertheless, the original gang—PC VR—remains resilient and even continues to expand.
Connected Headsets on Steam: A Five-Year Snapshot
Valve runs monthly surveys to glean insights from Steam users about their hardware and software preferences, including VR headset usage. This data gives us a clearer picture of what’s happening in the VR sphere, reflected in ‘monthly-connected headsets.’ This term describes the number of headsets connected to Steam monthly, offering a ballpark figure for ‘active VR users’ on the platform. However, it only counts connected headsets, not necessarily those actively used.
While Valve’s numbers help spotlight popular headsets on Steam, deciphering trends in monthly-connected headsets is tricky. The data is presented solely as percentages of Steam’s overall population—a figure continually shifting without being directly stated.
Observe only these percentages, and it might seem like VR usage is dwindling.
But that’s not the entire story. When considering the significant jump in Steam’s user base over five years—almost doubling, in fact—the picture changes.
To clarify the scenario, Road to VR maintains a model based on historical survey data alongside official figures from Valve and Steam. This model aims to adjust for Steam’s expanding user base, offering estimates on the actual count—not just the percentage—of headsets being used on Steam.
This approach reveals that the number of VR headsets on Steam has grown, albeit slowly, over time.
While Steam’s user base grows faster than SteamVR usage proportionally, the raw number of VR users has steadily increased. Simply put, even if the percentage of Steam’s population using VR headsets decreases, from a developer’s lens, the pool of potential VR customers is indeed expanding.
This wouldn’t be feasible without Valve’s strategy behind SteamVR as a universally accessible platform that welcomes any headset manufacturer willing to jump on board. Currently, around 24 different headsets are active each month, making SteamVR the most expansive and varied PC VR ecosystem.
The continued success of PC VR owes a nod to Meta as well. The affordability and availability of Quest headsets have ushered countless newcomers into the VR world, with some transitioning to using their headsets for PC VR. Presently, Meta headsets account for about 70% of monthly-connected headsets on Steam.
So, what does the future hold for PC VR in another five years? I guess we’ll find out in 2030!
