Total VR Market Share
The global market size of virtual reality headsets was estimated at $7.81 billion in 2020 and is expected to grow at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 28.2% from 2021 to 2028.
Direct Impact on Developments
The extensive application of virtual reality technology (VR) in military and automotive sectors is driving the market growth. Moreover, the rise in demand for gaming consoles is another factor propelling the industry's growth. VR technology has enormous potential to be used in a wide array of applications such as medical training, industrial prototyping, and education. The increasing investments in this technology by both companies and consumers are expected to stimulate the demand for products during the forecast period. The emerging trends in VR technology have a direct impact on the developments in the VR headset industry, like the introduction of handy, appealing, and sleek VR headsets.
VR Applications
The gaming segment accounted for the largest revenue share of over 30.0% in 2020 and is expected to dominate the global VR headset market during the forecast period. Gamers have a higher average spend on transforming their gaming consoles or desktops compared to non-gamers. This has encouraged companies to capitalize on the VR headset games within the reasonable price range for gamers. Additionally, the retail segment is expected to see substantial growth as retailers are integrating these devices into their stores to enhance the shopping experience. The new online shopping trends adopted by the retail and e-commerce companies, including providing their potential customers with real experiences while shopping to help them make a better purchase decision, are boosting the segment's growth.
Key VR Companies
Leading companies are continuously investing in R&D for the development of cost-effective devices that offer high quality and can be used by various end-user industries. Oculus Rift, Oculus Rift S, Oculus Quest, Oculus Go, HTC Vive, HTC Vive Pro Eye, HTC Focus, HTC Plus, HTC Cosmos, and Sony's PSVR are some of the VR headsets prominently present in various industrial sectors. The significant market expansion is expected to be supported by gaming consoles from Nintendo, SEGA, and Atari, Inc., among others. Unceasing investments in the research and development of VR technology by industry participants are expected to spur market growth during the forecast period.
The high revenues from the gaming sector have prompted VR device manufacturers to capitalize on the VR headset segment by offering related software, hardware, and content services. Many companies are applying various innovative technologies such as Blu-ray, 4K, motion sensing, self-tracking, HD quality video, and Six Degrees of Freedom (6DoF), to cater to the changing demands of the customer. Moreover, mergers and acquisitions and partnerships with domestic companies are among the key strategies executed by the global players in the industry. In May 2020, for example, HP Development Company, LP, a technology company, unveiled the new Reverb G2 VR headset, built in collaboration with Microsoft Corporation and Valve. Some prominent players in the global VR headset market are:
- Carl Zeiss AG
- Facebook Technologies, LLC (Oculus)
- Google LLC
- HTC Corporation
- LG Electronics
- Microsoft
- Razer Inc.
- Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
- Sony Corporation
- Pico Interactive
- DPVR
