VR content revenue will be more than US$7 billion by 2025, led by console gamers

In order to attract developers, VR platform providers need to develop ways for content to be more effectively monetized.

The new report Virtual Reality Markets: Platform Trends, Market Analysis & Forecasts 2020-2025, from Juniper Research, concludes consumer virtual reality content will bring over US$7 billion in revenue in 2025, a 160%+ on the US$3 billion it is expected to generate in 2020. The primary driver for consumer content in this space will be console gamers, which will account for 41% of revenue generated in 2025.

This research also notes that standalone VR will be the fastest-growing user base in the next five years; taking over from smartphone-based VR, which will stall, following the exit of Google and Samsung from the market last year. Juniper Research considers mobile VR will decline over the next five years, with only 1.2 million headsets in use by 2025.

Besides, while VR is expanding to more users, it is failing to gain the attention of large consumer companies, with many products and services targeted towards enterprise users. The consumer space, meanwhile, will struggle to become mainstream. Console games will be the most lucrative area here, but still have relatively low revenue per transaction, with an average price of US$17 per VR game expected for consoles through the forecast period. At the same time, however, less than 4% of console users worldwide will use the platform, making VR compatibility, rather than VR exclusivity, a safer bet for games developers.

James Moar, co-author of the study, said: “The price of entry remains an obstacle to many potential VR users and developers. We assume standalone VR will grow more rapidly, as the middle ground of affordable quality, but platform providers need to develop ways for content to be more effectively monetized, in order to attract developers.”