6 Reasons Why VR Gaming Isn't Popular

Manufacturers have been pushing VR headsets for years now. But with all those investments that are now in the billions of dollars, how come VR gaming still hasn’t hit the mainstream?

VR gaming isn’t popular because it’s expensive and requires a powerful computer to run smoothly. The cost of entry for such a niche product is too high for many to justify. Plus, there aren’t many good AAA games with last-gen graphics on VR, and it requires ample space and can cause motion sickness.

Here are 6 reasons why VR gaming isn’t popular:

1. High Cost of Entry

Although there are a few budget VR headsets out there that cost less than $300–$400, they still require you to use a high-end gaming PC or last-gen console. And for most people, that’s just too much for an accessory that they might not even enjoy.

You can buy a last-gen console for that money and know that you’d enjoy it. Plus, VR headsets are refreshed and updated more often than consoles because of constant improvements in the technology.

A “good” budget VR headset that even lets you play light titles is the Meta Quest 2, which costs around $400–$500 depending on the configuration and whether you get controllers.

But even then, that device has to squeeze in a mobile SoC processor, a decent display, potential controllers, housing, and so much more. And the display was only locked to 72 Hz, with experimental 90 Hz and 120 Hz refresh rates added later. At least it lets you play lightweight titles without a computer or console, but the experience isn’t great.

And this is only after Meta invested over $13 billion in VR, AR, and the metaverse. Despite the huge investments, people simply aren’t that interested in VR, and many just bought the Quest 2 because it’s a standalone VR device that lets you play lighter, Android-based titles.

These cheap headsets are only good if you plan to play lightweight games that don’t have impressive next-gen graphics, such as Beat Saber and VR Chat.

For the “real” VR gaming experience, you need a $1,500–$2,000 computer paired with a VR headset that costs just as much, such as the Valve Index.

Those pricey headsets allow you to experience room-scale VR, which allows you to walk around in physical space. But since such a setup can cost as much as a decent second-hand car, it’s out of the question for many. That’s especially true if you’re not even sure that you’ll like the experience.

Plus, you may even need to buy a handful of VR-only games, which adds to the cost. If a game is free, or if both the regular and VR version comes in a bundle, then it’s not that bad. But for VR-only games, the cost can be as high as standard AAA games.

2. There Aren’t Many AAA VR Games

It’s been many years since VR re-entered people’s awareness, as there have already been a couple of generations of headsets. But despite this, there just aren’t that many good VR games to play.

Games like Beat Saber and Superhot are a lot of fun, but they just aren’t on the same level as AAA VR games.

The first “real” VR game that got the mainstream audience’s attention was Half-Life: Alyx, which was the first high-profile VR-only game. Combined with the relatively low cost of entry in terms of minimum system requirements, thousands of people bought or borrowed VR headsets just to play through this game.

But aside from Half-Life: Alyx, there haven’t been any true AAA games designed for VR from the ground up.

The best VR gets are adaptations of already existing games from PC or consoles, such as The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Fallout 4, and No Man’s Sky.

So, it seems that high-budget studios and investors are reluctant to invest in expensive VR games that might not even get good reception. Adapting existing games allows them to strike a happy medium, but it’s not a “real” VR experience like Half-Life: Alyx.

And while these games have been adapted to VR to make them feel more immersive, they just aren’t worth getting a VR headset for. You can already play all of them on a mid-range computer with a decent monitor or a PlayStation 5 and a large 4K TV and get more or less the same experience.

3. Graphics Don’t Live Up to Consumers’ Standards

This ties into the previous point, as there are very few AAA games on VR, and even fewer that actually look any good. At best, you’ll get previous-gen graphics from the PS4/Xbox One era. Some of these games do look decent, but they’re not exactly blockbuster titles with the latest and greatest in ray tracing.

There are multiple reasons why graphics on VR don’t look as good as standard games, such as:

The VR market is smaller. Although there is a lot of interest in VR gaming, it’s not anywhere near traditional or mobile gaming, so there isn’t a lot of pressure on developers to make good-looking VR games as they’re less profitable.
Developing games for VR is difficult. While developers know how to make a traditional game look good, it’s not as easy on VR. They have to develop unique rendering techniques, such as react virtual rendering, which only renders what the user can see.
VR games have to render twice as much. Having to render 2 high-resolution displays simultaneously and keep them synchronized is challenging and requires a lot of computing power.

That being said, there are a handful of great-looking VR games, such as:

Resident Evil Village
Half-Life: Alyx
Microsoft Flight Simulator
Fallout 4
Stormland
No Man’s Sky

4. Developing VR Games Is Hard

Video game developers have had 4–5 decades to learn how to develop video games for computers and consoles. However, this experience doesn’t fully translate into developing VR games because they’re now dealing with a completely new perspective.

Making a realistic game and making it look good and immersive is much more challenging when you have to consider that it’ll be rendered on 2 displays simultaneously. Everything has to be immaculate. Animations and motion must be made perfectly to avoid motion sickness, and 3D sound design also plays a huge role.

There’s also the use of VR controllers, some of which allow users full control of an in-game character’s hand. This little trick can do wonders for immersion, as shown in Half-Life: Alyx.

Lastly, optimizing VR games for performance is enormously challenging. The games have to look convincing and run on 2 high refresh rate high-resolution displays. And ideally, gamers should be able to run such games on cheaper hardware.

5. Various Health Issues

There have already been several studies on the health implications of VR. Aside from the typical risks associated with gaming addiction, there are additional risks of wearing a couple of bright displays strapped to your face.

Short-term exposure causes motion sickness, which causes dizziness, nausea, vomiting, loss of balance, and other similar symptoms. Some are more sensitive to motion sickness than others, but you can’t know until you try VR. For example, you might not get sick when in a car, but you’re prone to seasickness. And the same is true for VR.

In addition to motion sickness, having your eyes so close to a bright display means you’ll forget to blink, causing eye strain and headaches. This is all bad news for something that’s supposed to be fun.

It’s believed that things will get better as the technology advances thanks to higher refresh rates and sharper displays, but people regularly experience VR sickness even on 120 Hz 1440p displays.

Another often overlooked risk is that you can’t see anything around you. Although you might find some of those VR grandma breaking TV videos funny, there are some real dangers of using VR.

6. VR Takes up a Lot of Space

Even if you’re playing on a regular VR headset, you still need plenty of open space around you to make sure you don’t get hurt or hit something by accident. And all this has to be done in the proximity of your computer or console so that it can render the games you’re playing.

And while using a VR headset wirelessly is an option on some of them, you’ll often get the best experience with a cable. A cable allows for higher data transfer speeds, which means less latency, higher framerates, and less stutter. All of this takes up a lot of space.

And if you’re using a room-scale VR headset, then you need even more space. For example, Valve recommends at least 6.5 ft x 5 ft (2 m x 1.5 m) of completely free space to use the Valve Index.

For many people living in smaller suburban homes, this simply isn’t an option.

6 Reasons Why VR Gaming Isn’t Popular