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 keeps track of all VR headsets that were used with a PC with Steam installed in the previous month and whose users took part in the survey. Conclusions on the relative distribution of PC VR headsets may be inferred from this. However, the poll excludes other VR platforms, such as Playstation VR 2, as well as standalone devices that are not used in conjunction 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 screenshot below depicts the share of VR headsets monitored by the study in November 2023, with Quest 3 making its first significant effect this month. In comparison to the previous month’s figures, the headset’s share grew to around 5%, putting it in fifth position among the most popular SteamVR headsets.
Meta Quest 2 entered the statistics with 5.5 percent precisely three years ago. Two months later, its market share had increased to 17%. It will be fascinating to watch what occurs in the near future with Quest 3. The Quest 2, which Meta is still selling, is expected to be the best-selling VR headset this Christmas. According to Amazon sales numbers, the substantially less expensive Quest 2 sold more than twice as fast as the Quest 3 in November.
The fact that Quest 2 percentage has risen so slowly in contrast may imply that a sizable number of PC VR players have shifted from Quest 2 to Quest 3. Furthermore, most Quest 2 purchasers in the last month are likely to be VR novices who are not using the device on a PC, thus they do not appear in SteamVR’s statistics at all.
Valve shows renewed interest in PC VR
The report also indicates how many Steam users own a VR headset. This was 1.89 percent in November.
Valve unexpectedly published Steam Link for Meta Quest, a VR program that facilitates the usage of PC VR streaming, toward the end of the month. As a result, Steam Link may have a favorable influence on PC VR adoption in the coming months.
It also suggests that Valve has more in store for us. SteamVR 2.0 was published at the end of October, while Steam Link was offered on the Meta Quest shop a month later. Is Valve laying the groundwork for a new virtual reality headset? This is encouraging news for the PC VR platform, which has been stagnant for some time.
