Meta Quest 3 makes a strong debut in SteamVR stats
Meta Quest 3 makes a similarly strong first appearance in Valve's PC VR stats as Meta Quest 2 did three years ago.
The monthly Steam Hardware & Software Survey tracks all VR headsets that were used with a PC with Steam installed during the past month and whose users participated in the survey. From this, conclusions can be drawn about the relative distribution of PC VR headsets among each other. However, the survey does not track other VR platforms, such as Playstation VR 2, or standalone devices that are not used with a PC.
Quest headsets can be used wirelessly on a PC via Air Link, Virtual Desktop, and most recently Steam Link.
Meta Quest 3 makes a strong start
The following screenshot shows the share of VR headsets tracked by the survey in November 2023, with Quest 3 having its first big impact this month. Compared to the previous month's numbers, the headset's share increased to about 5 percent, putting it in 5th place among the most used SteamVR headsets.
The most-used SteamVR headsets from Valve's survey (November 2023). | Screenshot: MIXED
Meta Quest 2 entered the statistics exactly three years ago with 5.5 percent. Two months later, its share had risen to 17 percent. It will be interesting to see what happens with Quest 3 in the near future. The Quest 2, which Meta continues to sell, is likely to be the best-selling VR headset again this Christmas. Sales figures on Amazon suggest that the significantly cheaper Quest 2 sold more than twice as fast as the Quest 3 in November.
The fact that Quest 2's percentage has increased so little in comparison may indicate that a significant number of PC VR users have switched from Quest 2 to Quest 3. In addition, most consumers who have purchased a Quest 2 in the past month are likely to be VR beginners who are not using the device on a PC, so they do not show up in SteamVR's statistics at all.
Valve shows renewed interest in PC VR
The survey also shows the percentage of Steam users with a VR headset. In November, this was 1.89 percent.
At the end of the month, Valve surprisingly released Steam Link for Meta Quest, a VR app that simplifies the use of PC VR streaming. Steam Link could therefore have a positive impact on PC VR usage in the coming months.
It also gives hope that Valve has more up its sleeve. SteamVR 2.0 was released at the end of October, followed a month later by the release of Steam Link in the Meta Quest store. Is Valve preparing the ground for a new VR headset? This would be good news for the PC VR platform, which has been stagnating for some time now.
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