Where VR Gaming Took a Wrong Turn

A focus on hyper-realistic and violent immersive games misses the real potential of VR

By Marcus Carter, a professor of human-computer interaction at the University of Sydney
and Ben Egliston, Lecturer in Digital Cultures at the University of Sydney
September 10, 2024

In 2017 Mark Zuckerberg stated a bold goal: He wanted one billion people to try virtual reality (VR) by 2027. While he still has a few years to pull it off, the target remains impossibly farfetched. The most recent estimates place total worldwide VR headset sales at only 34 million.

VR Gaming was expected to lead this uptake, but why hasn’t it? We believe that VR gaming has been held back by game developers who are committed to a fantasy. In this fantasy, VR games align with the values of “hardcore” gamer culture, with advanced graphics and wholly immersive play. Aspirational attempts to reach this flawed fantasy have squashed the true potential of VR for gaming...   Source