Omdia research shows that the consumer VR market value will reach 160 in 2026

According to a report released by Omdia, the consumer virtual reality (VR) market value will reach $16 billion by 2026, an increase of 148% over 2021.

George Jijiashvili, principal analyst at Omdia, commented: "VR all-in-ones have quickly become mainstream devices, accounting for 83% of consumer VR headset sales in 2021. This was largely driven by the success of meta Quest 2, which delivers on the promise of an immersive, uninhibited VR experience at a low price. ”

Quest 2 began shipping from Facebook in late 2020, and in August 2021, future CTO Andrew Bosworth said he believed the company would reach its goal of 10 million VR users sooner than they expected.

Although Meta has never disclosed the specific sales of Meta Quest 2, according to the assessment of third-party institutions, Meta Quest 2 may have already exceeded 10 million.

Of the 30 countries covered by the Omdia report, the penetration rate of VR headsets in 2021 is only 2.4 units per 100 households. From this data, the popularity of VR is still low, and this number will only grow to 6.3 units in 2026.

Although many manufacturers have been paying money and efforts to popularize VR devices, the attitude of ordinary consumers to VR headsets is still far away. The Quest 2 sold an estimated 2.4 million units in the first three months of its launch in 2020, making it the fastest-selling VR headset to date and expected to sell another 7 million units by the end of the year.

It is predicted that Facebook's share of global VR all-in-one sales will decrease from 59% in 2021 to 46% in 2026. As the craze around the metaverse rises sharply, other tech giants and hardware makers feel compelled to move into (or re-enter) VR, leading to the emergence of more competitive headsets and platform options.

VR content revenue will exceed $2 billion in 2021, but it still accounts for only a tiny fraction (1.2%) of total gaming market revenue, not to mention the broader media and entertainment market. As we all know, VR games are the first channel for most people to contact VR, but VR has long been applied to education, cultural tourism and other fields.

At present, VR games still occupy less game market share, partly because there are fewer excellent VR games, and on the other hand, there is no social attribute.

Omdia expects the line between virtual and augmented reality to become increasingly blurred. From 2022 onwards, there will be more attention paid to the "penetrating" VR feature, which allows users to view an enhanced version of their real-life environment through a VR headset. Meta's upcoming Project Cambria headset will offer an improved version of this technology. The penetrating VR headset will serve as a short-term transition between VR and Unreal's mainstream consumer AR glasses, which will still take years.