Consumer Virtual Reality Hardware and Content Revenue to Reach $21.8 Billion by 2020, According to Tractica

Gaming Will Drive the Majority of the Market, but VR Content Will Also Include Video, Music, Social, Tourism, and Sports and Fitness

BOULDER, Colo.--()--The year 2016 will be the make or break year for the second coming of consumer virtual reality (VR), according to a new report from Tractica. Facebook and Sony are both set to release the much-anticipated Oculus Rift and Project Morpheus headsets, respectively, by which time HTC’s Vive head-mounted display (HMD) will have been on the market for a while. A number of lessons have been learned since the 1990s when consumer VR last generated this much hype, with huge strides having been made on the comfort of HMDs, creating a convincing level of immersion, the emergence of standards, and the development of compelling content.

“The stakes are high for VR given the huge amount of money invested in the industry by some of the world’s biggest companies,” says principal analyst Craig Foster. “Getting users to experience VR technology firsthand, and therefore truly understand its potential, remains a challenge, but the emergence of mobile VR solutions is helping. Even so, some observers strongly believe that anything requiring the user to wear a cumbersome device will ultimately fail. Consequently, industry players continue fine-tuning their products so as not to muddy the water for all involved.”

Tractica anticipates that these efforts will bear fruit in the coming years, and that combined revenue for head-mounted displays (HMDs), VR accessories, and VR content will increase from $108.8 million in 2014 to $21.8 billion worldwide by 2020, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 142%. As adoption begins to reach a critical mass, the market intelligence firm forecasts that the industry’s revenue mix will quickly shift from hardware sales to content. Content sales will represent more than one-third of total VR revenue by 2017, and will quickly grow to nearly two-thirds of all VR revenue by 2020.

Tractica’s report, “Virtual Reality for Consumer Markets”, provides a comprehensive analysis of the market dynamics, technology issues, and competitive landscape for consumer VR hardware and content. The report features global market forecasts for annual unit shipments and associated revenue during the period from 2014 through 2020. An Executive Summary of the report is available for free download on the firm’s website.

About Tractica

Tractica is a market intelligence firm that focuses on human interaction with technology. Tractica’s global market research and consulting services combine qualitative and quantitative research methodologies to provide a comprehensive view of the emerging market opportunities surrounding User Interface Technologies, Biometrics, Digital Health, Wearable Devices, and Automation & Robotics. For more information, visit www.tractica.com or call +1.303.248.3000.

Contacts

Tractica
Clint Wheelock, +1 303-248-3000
press@tractica.com

Release Summary

The year 2016 will be the make or break year for the second coming of consumer virtual reality, as the industry pursues a significant market opportunity for VR hardware, accessories, and content.

Contacts

Tractica
Clint Wheelock, +1 303-248-3000
press@tractica.com