The VR market is falling. Sales of devices decreased by 24%, and software — by 9.6%
The situation in the VR market cannot be called prosperous. This is what analysts at the Omdia research company think, comparing sales of VR devices and VR software compared to last year.
According to the published report:
- Device sales fell by 24% (from 10.1 million gadgets last year to 7.7 million this year);
- the base of active devices has not changed significantly (remained at the level of 23.6 million gadgets);
- Most of the sales came from independent VR devices (which do not require third-party devices to work).
A combination of factors led to such results:
- global inflation;
- overall decrease in entertainment spending after the peak in the coronavirus years;
- weak sales of the three leading devices (Meta Quest 3, Sony PlayStation VR2 and Pico 4) caused by both pricing policy and the problem with content on platforms (few strong new releases).
The situation will continue in the next year or two. Sales of VR devices will decrease in both 2024 and 2025. Approximately 13% per year. The companies explain the reduction of the segment in the future for two reasons:
- the appearance of new gaming devices and the updating of old ones (we are talking about Switch 2 and Steam Deck OLED, respectively);
- the shift in the focus of technology companies in terms of investments in AI.
Important: sales of VR content have also fallen. Their reduction was 9.6% (from $934 million earlier to $844 million in 2023). However, Omdia is more optimistic about him. According to the company's forecast, by 2028, sales of VR content will reach $2.3 billion (primarily sales of software for Apple VR devices).
