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Steam Hardware Survey - July 2025 results included (see latest post in this thread)

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Latest results:

These results are compared, at least for the Rift, to August when Rift peaked at 0.35 %. Since August 2018 Rift has decreased about 6 % (from 0.35 to 0.33). Vive also decreased.

Compared to other HMDs we see from April to September (note that this image hasn't been updated to October yet):

When updated to October I'd expect:

Rift = 45 %
Vive = 42 %
WMR = 8 %
Vive Pro = 3 %
Rift DK2 = 1 %

Source: https://store.steampowered.com/hwsurvey/Steam-Hardware-Software-Survey-Welcome-to-Steam

BTW - some history:

April 2018:

Oculus Rift 0.20%

HTC Vive 0.18%

Windows Mixed Reality 0.01%

Oculus Rift DK2 0.01%

Oculus Rift DK1 0.00%

Unknown 0.00%

July 2018:

Oculus Rift 0.32%

HTC Vive 0.31%

Windows Mixed Reality 0.05%
HTC Vive Pro 0.01%

Oculus Rift DK2 0.01%

Oculus Rift DK1 0.00%

I guess it's more or less a stand still since July for Rift and the original Vive... I don't think the Odyssey+ has had any impact on the WMR results above, the Odyssey+ is much too new - if it'll have any impact, it won't be before the Steam Hardware Survey November 2018 results.

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RuneSR2Author

Honored Contributor

Here're the results from April 2023, seems we're back at the approx. 2% VR users again:

Quest 2, the old Vive from year 2016 and Pico 4 were gaining, everything else lost something or didn't move.

From history we know that expensive hmds do not sell - well apart from Index, HTC and some Pimax hmds.

Interestingly Varjo Aero still is not on the list - that is, less than 0.01% of SteamVR users have an Aero connected to their rigs.

More interestingly, the Quest Pro, like the Aero, is not on the list too. This indicates that no one buys the Quest Pro - even after the discount in March. Would be great to see the Quest Pro on the list, it's a fine hmd for PCVR, also for the price. Let's see how it goes next month.

Oculus Rift CV1, Valve Index & PSVR2, Asus Strix OC RTX™ 3090, i9-10900K (5.3Ghz), 32GB 3200MHz, 16TB SSD "Ask not what VR can do for you, but what you can do for VR"

RuneSR2Author

Honored Contributor

The results from June 2023:

Quest 2 is on top, but still the 2% reduction is noticeable, while the Index gained 0.6%. Varjo Aero and Quest Pro are still ghosts and do not exist in the chart, even if Valve measures down to 0.01%. If the chart is just slightly correct, Quest Pro has been a massive failure - thus no one buys it, like the Aero and other expensive hmds. Judging by the chart, there are at least 550 times more active Rift CV1 hmds out there than Quest Pros. Seems like Meta has completely lost the high-end users, and only can sell very cheap hmds - let's see how it goes for the Quest 3, which still will be on the cheap side.

Results may also be impacted by transitions to PSVR2. Sony sold 600,000 PSVR2 hmds in 6 weeks after the launch (thus by April), and 12 more weeks have now passed - so a loose guess maybe be that PSVR2 has reached about 750,000 - 800,000 users now (as the curve flattened toward the first 6 weeks, also boosted by launch sales).

Summer time is upon us, and a small decline from 1.87% to 1.73% of Steam users with active hmds may also be expected.

Oculus Rift CV1, Valve Index & PSVR2, Asus Strix OC RTX™ 3090, i9-10900K (5.3Ghz), 32GB 3200MHz, 16TB SSD "Ask not what VR can do for you, but what you can do for VR"

HiroProtag0nist

Honored Contributor

There's been quite a few videos appearing on youtube about Valve Deckard and how wonderful the Index is - I actually think a few people might have dusted off their Index and played through a few games.

I believe some people may be selling on their Quest 2s in prep for the 3 - I've sold every headset on so far to buy the next Oculus one but I usually do that once I have the new one in my hands. This time around we're talking about millions though, so yeah, there could well be a few PCVR players selling their 2 on.

The excitement builds...

Big PC, all the headsets, now using Quest 3

RuneSR2Author

Honored Contributor

I'll believe in the Deckard when I see it for sale on Steam, not a second before, lol. Valve time...

With the RTX 3090 I can run nearly all my Rift CV1 games/apps in 90 fps ss 2.0+ with maxed in-game graphics - but that's not the case with the Index, which has 80% higher res and can take image quality a lot further. RTX 3090 is fine for the Index - but only for 90 fps, going for 144 fps and very high super-sampling, I'd probably need that RTX 5090 to unlock the full potential of the Index. So Index really is not dated - it was way ahead of its time in 2019, and it's first now we can start to unlock optimal Index quality in 120 and 144 Hz. In a game like Green Hell VR, I cannot even get 90 fps with Index res 100% and maxed in-game settings - the RTX 3090 is too slow - I need at least twice my current gpu speed to make that game fly - and that's just with the Index.

If my Index broke, I'd buy a new one - there is no other hmd of greater interest to me. This is also because of the Index having native SteamVR drivers - needing to use 2 layers of drivers, my CV1 performance is much reduced when Steam games only support native SteamVR drivers (like in Vertigo 2, Undead Citadel, District Steel and many more games). To me it's a great advantage for optimal performance in VR games to have a Meta hmd (for all the Oculus exclusives, not all can be Revived) and the Index. You'll get the best of both worlds 🙂

BigScreen Beyond sounds nice, but fov is too small and I do not appreciate that the hmd only will work for my face (locked ipd + face gasket, my sons can't use it optimally etc). And got oled with the PSVR2, not sure I need a 4th hmd for now. So I'd love to get Alyx 2, I do not really care for Deckard, Quest 3 and other hmds.

Oculus Rift CV1, Valve Index & PSVR2, Asus Strix OC RTX™ 3090, i9-10900K (5.3Ghz), 32GB 3200MHz, 16TB SSD "Ask not what VR can do for you, but what you can do for VR"

RuneSR2Author

Honored Contributor

Btw, here are results from August and July 2023:

August 2023 - Quest Pro enters the chart for the first time ever! - Thanks TomCgcmfc 🙂

July 2023

In August, Quest 2 regained what was lost in July, but mostly not much changed. Pico 4 did move up somewhat in August too. Still about 2% of Steam users have hmds connected. Index reached 20% of VR users for the first time ever in July - which was impressive for a $1000 hmd.

Oculus Rift CV1, Valve Index & PSVR2, Asus Strix OC RTX™ 3090, i9-10900K (5.3Ghz), 32GB 3200MHz, 16TB SSD "Ask not what VR can do for you, but what you can do for VR"

T

TomCgcmfc

Honored Contributor

Thanks for all that mate. Good to see your +4yo Index is still holding its own. I'm looking forward to seeing what the the Index 2 (Deckard?) looks like when that finally comes out (2024-2025?). Unfortunately Valve probably still won't ship to Australia, but if it looks good enough I may take a chance and import it from the US like I did with my Index controllers that I got for my Vive Pro1 +3 years ago (still working great and heaps better than the Vive wands).

Also good to see my Quest Pro has finally (well barely, lol!) made the list. Honestly, with my i913900k/rtx4090 and very good router/wifi setup, this headset does fantastic wireless PCVR with Air Link. Thanks to the super fast double encoders on the 4090 there are no noticeable compression artifacts. Currently this is the best VR headset I've ever owned. Also, since the QPro got Local Dimning a couple of months ago blacks/contrast in darkish environments are almost as good as my Vive Pro1's amoled screens. Thanks to the QPro pancake lens and bit higher res, the edge to edge clarity is much better and there is much less SDE (like almost none). I gotta say that my +4yo VP1 is now starting to collect a bit of dust, lol!

The Pimax Crystal is still on my radar but I won't consider buying one until it's fully functional (incl all the pre-release advertised options) and is available from Amazon.

Like you, I'm not crazy about the Bigscreen Beyond's custom fit facial interface. Also, non-adjustable IPD, and no built-in audio. I'd also need to get prescription lens inserts. I think that they would need to come up with an adjustable IPD, glasses friendly facial interface, and in-built audio before I'd consider buying one. I do think it's great that they are introducing the first micro-oled screens though and I'm sure that this, together with pancake lens are going to be the way to go in the near future.

The Somnium vr1 headset looks interesting as well but it's not clear when exactly these will come out, or what they'll cost.

Because I can afford to do so, I'm planning to preorder a Quest 3 as soon as it's released later this month. I mainly intend to use it for standalone VR/MR and as a backup for my QPro. I doubt that it will do better wireless PCVR than my QPro, but you never know? Plus, like getting a new car, you can't beat that new-car smell, lol!

i9 13900K water cooled, RTX4090, Z790 MB w/wifi6e, 64Gb 6400 ram, 2x2TB SSD, 1000W PSU, Win 11, QPro, Q3, w/Link and Air Link, Vive Pro1 with 2x2.0 base stations, Etsy lens mod and Index Controllers

RuneSR2Author

Honored Contributor

Awesome - I missed the Quest Pro - you're absolutely right it's in the chart for the first time ever! So we're writing history here 😉

0.39% may not sound like a lot - but it's a lot better than the Varjo Aero, which still is not on the chart.

If there's one lesson learned over the years, it's that the higher the price, the lower the adoption. Index did sell well at a high price - but Valve also gave us the most advanced VR content ever made, and Valve is a big name trusted by many (not so for Pimax, BigScreen, Varjo etc.).

If I was to choose between Big Screen Beyond, Quest Pro and Quest 3, I'd probably go for the Pro too - because I have a rather gigantic amount of games bought in the Rift Store, so performance would be fine for all of those games. And I would still use Index for SteamVR due to fov, sound and the much better performance in native SteamVR games.

I also just got informed that Valve's next hmd may be very high-end and much more expensive than the Index - but it is just rumors, might not be true. Very interesting what the future holds!

Oculus Rift CV1, Valve Index & PSVR2, Asus Strix OC RTX™ 3090, i9-10900K (5.3Ghz), 32GB 3200MHz, 16TB SSD "Ask not what VR can do for you, but what you can do for VR"

RuneSR2Author

Honored Contributor

Latest trends:

September 2023

Are Quest 2 users starting dumping their hmds to get a Quest 3? 🤔 In September 2023, Quest 2 got reduced the most, followed by Quest 1. Even Meta Pro users got reduced - not much, but there aren't many of those anyway. Interestingly, more or less only Quest hmds got reduced - while close to all other hmds gained.

Overall the percentage of hmd users got reduced.

For hmds gaining, the Rift CV1 was the one gaining the most - followed by WMR and Vive Pro. Seems there's still life among the elderly 😉

This week I've been using my PSVR2 the most - not sure if that could be a trend pulling users away from Steam.

Oculus Rift CV1, Valve Index & PSVR2, Asus Strix OC RTX™ 3090, i9-10900K (5.3Ghz), 32GB 3200MHz, 16TB SSD "Ask not what VR can do for you, but what you can do for VR"

RuneSR2Author

Honored Contributor

Results from October 2023 just arrived and include the Quest 3:

The Index reached it current max with 21.5% - and Quest 3 arrived with only 0.15%.

Normally there's a great boost at launch due to pre-orders (like we saw with the PSVR2), and of course we're early with the Quest 3, still 0.15% looks very low to me compared to 40% Quest 2s. Interesting to see next month and after Christmas.

If Quest 3s are counted as Quest 2s, then we should have seen a boost for Quest 2 - but instead Quest 2 declined 1.5% - that's a rather large reduction.

It does not seem like any sold their Index to get Quest 3. Rather the opposite may have happened - many sold Quest 2 and got an Index?

A 2.2% jump forward is a very large one for the Index, haven't seen that for the Index in years.

Btw, the great launch boost for the PSVR2 can be seen here:

PSVR2 arrived with a massive 450.000 sold hmds - to show the launch impact.

Oculus Rift CV1, Valve Index & PSVR2, Asus Strix OC RTX™ 3090, i9-10900K (5.3Ghz), 32GB 3200MHz, 16TB SSD "Ask not what VR can do for you, but what you can do for VR"

RuneSR2Author

Honored Contributor

Latest results for November has been ready for a few days:

NOVEMBER 2023

Meta Quest 3 at 5% might not be the start Meta was hoping for - but might also not be that bad due to the higher Quest 3 price. Not sure Quest 3 increased VR adoption, it looks more like some bought Quest 3 and used it instead of Index, Rift S, Vive and Rift CV1 - as these hmds got reduced similarly to the Quest 3 increase.

Interesting how Quest 3 adoption will be this Christmas - but these will not be registered before February 2024...

Oculus Rift CV1, Valve Index & PSVR2, Asus Strix OC RTX™ 3090, i9-10900K (5.3Ghz), 32GB 3200MHz, 16TB SSD "Ask not what VR can do for you, but what you can do for VR"

HiroProtag0nist

Honored Contributor

I reckon Quest 3 will be around 15% in Feb. There's a lot of youtube videos now of hardcore gamers saying they've put away their Valve Index/Vive Pro 2 and are now using Quest 3s for their PC gaming/simming etc.

Big PC, all the headsets, now using Quest 3

nalex66

Honored Contributor

That was almost a 3% drop for Index from one month to the next, in the same period that Q3 gained 5%. Anecdotally, it seems that a lot of people are coming around to the Quest lineup as the best current option for PCVR. With WindowsMR drying up and approaching end-of life, there aren’t a whole lot of other options, especially without spending well over $1000. Looking at the latest Steam chart, very little outside of Meta and Valve even manages to crack 5% market share (the ancient HTC Vive is hanging on, but I don’t think many would recommend buying one today).

Valve needs to step up with something new soon, if they don’t want to cede the whole VR hardware market to Meta. I have to say, I love my Quest 3, and at this point I wouldn’t use an Index if I got it for free. Low res screens, fresnel lenses, tether cables, and base stations are so “last decade.”

DK2, CV1, Go, Quest, Quest 2, Quest 3. Try my game: Cyclops Island Demo

RuneSR2Author

Honored Contributor

New results from December 2023 have just arrived:

DECEMBER 2023

Quest 3 primarily seems to cannibalize the Quest 2 scores, so Quest 3 went up 2.6%, while Quest 2 went down 2.6%, Interestingly Rift-S and Rift CV1 had small improvements, which does indicate that these users are not changing to Quest 3. Generally most other hmds had smaller reductions. Overall Steam users with hmds stayed much the same.

Note that these results do not include those getting hmds for Christmas, as these users will not be part of the survey until next month or even later.

Oculus Rift CV1, Valve Index & PSVR2, Asus Strix OC RTX™ 3090, i9-10900K (5.3Ghz), 32GB 3200MHz, 16TB SSD "Ask not what VR can do for you, but what you can do for VR"

RuneSR2Author

Honored Contributor

Finally the results including Christmas 2023 arrived:

January 2024

Quest 3 is now close to Index, and Steam users rose 0.4% to 2.24%. Seems Quest 3 is increasing PCVR adoption. It also seems that Quest 3 is cannibalizing Index, Rift-S, Rift CV1 and HTC Vive hmds.

We'll see how it goes with retention the following months.

Also, while Meta had the best Q4 yet for sales, Q4 was a true disaster for costs:

Source: https://www.uploadvr.com/meta-quest-3-launch-record-revenue-1-billion/

Interesting if Meta loses money for each sold Quest 3 - does seem like great sales come at mindblowingly steep costs... Ends do not at all seem to meet.

Oculus Rift CV1, Valve Index & PSVR2, Asus Strix OC RTX™ 3090, i9-10900K (5.3Ghz), 32GB 3200MHz, 16TB SSD "Ask not what VR can do for you, but what you can do for VR"

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