Valve’s monthly Steam hardware and software survey is out again, and it appears HTC Vive is holding firm ground on the platform after Oculus Rift took majority market share in March as the most popular VR headset on Steam.

After a posting strong numbers in April, Rift is now only ahead of Vive, its major competitor, by less than a percentage point. Meanwhile, Windows “Mixed Reality” VR headsets are still a minority, but are gaining ground on the platform, and Oculus Rift DK2 slowly fades at about the same rate.

Each month, Valve runs the survey among Steam users to determine some baseline statistics about what kind of hardware and software is used by the user population, and to see how things are changing over time; that includes which VR headsets are connected to users’ computers. Participation in the survey is optional.

VR headsets on the platform now make up 0.72% of of overall users connecting to Steam. Virtual reality usership on the platform is up 0.09% since the penultimate survey.

Image courtesy Valve

As for Vive’s pushback, it could be attributed to HTC Vive Pro, the company’s premium VR headset, which is mostly being purchased by professional users at $800 just for the headset; it doesn’t include controllers or SteamVR tracking basestations, an add-on that will cost you $300 if you’re looking to upgrade to the new SteamVR 2.0 tracking standard. As an expensive headset targeted at prosumers, it was bound to have some effect on the overall numbers, but we’re not surprised to see just how little the needle has moved.

Confounding numbers: it’s also possible less Oculus Rift users connected to SteamVR content last month, instead playing games and experiences purchased through the Oculus Store.

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That said, Oculus Rift’s $400 all-in price tag, which includes controllers, sensors, and the headset, still represents a better deal over HTC Vive’s $500 all-in price, which includes everything, but still contains the uncomfortable elastic headstrap and no integrated audio—something you can remedy for $100 more with the Deluxe Audio Strap.

Windows “Mixed Reality” VR headsets are seeing an uptick too, which is likely due to competitive pricing among the handful of partner manufacturers. All except the Samsung Odyssey pack in the same specs: two 2.89″, 1,440 x 1,440 resolution LCDs. Samsung’s headset boasts the same resolution (and panel) as Vive Pro, featuring dual 1,440 × 1,600 resolution AMOLEDs. Windows VR headsets can now be had for as low as $200, and have support for many games on the SteamVR platform.

There’s still a contingent of diehard Oculus DK2 owners still playing through Steam. The DK2, which launched in 2014, still holds 1.48% of the total share of VR headsets in use on Steam, a marked decrease from the reported 1.95% earlier this year.

Update (11:30 AM ET): It was previously reported that VR headset usership was 0.33% of overall users, when in fact that number represents only Oculus Rift numbers. Overall usership of VR on Steam is actually 0.72% at the moment. This has been corrected in the body of the article.

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Well before the first modern XR products hit the market, Scott recognized the potential of the technology and set out to understand and document its growth. He has been professionally reporting on the space for nearly a decade as Editor at Road to VR, authoring more than 3,500 articles on the topic. Scott brings that seasoned insight to his reporting from major industry events across the globe.
  • MarquisDeSang

    If you factor that 90% of Rift owner never buy on Steam, Rift has probably 75% of the market share.

    • StopBeingStupid

      Don’t argue for the CV1 over Vive if you’re going to downplay PCVR anyway.

      This survey means nothing to you and doesn’t apply to you. We get it.

      • polysix

        I’ve owned dk2, vive, psvr AND rift. Rift has been the most joy of any of them, even inc the slightly less robust tracking. The controllers, the ergonomics, the front end (software), the ease of on/off, the fit and finish and esp the price has all been a wortwhile VR trip. My Vive had some great things about it but strap /ergo aside (half addressed only in vive pro) it was a giant let down in every area even vs my old DK2, esp the crappy wands, stupid touch pads, super bad SDE, tunnel shaped FOV and bad quality control that always threatened to leave you out of pocket for a wall hit or getting sweat into the unit (HTC = $$$$ milking).

        I’ve felt far more satisfied by the rift ownership and customer satisfaction is important esp to hit a wider audience than just us VR nutz.

        I have no doubt that Rift GEN 2 will absolutely blow away everything out there no matter how high res pimax or others go, it has to be a balanced well designed system all round, not just spec.

        And as a rift owner even having a bit of software on steam (inc the free games i got with my vive) I rarely go near steam VR anyway, it’s too damn janky just like their hardware. This WILL skew results.

        All these results mean are – more vive users (cos of pro buyers obviously) and more rift owners now sticking to oculus home as it’s improved a lot and we don’t want to futz around in steam anymore.

        • MosBen

          Agreed. So many folks around here are just obsessed with Bigger Numbers are the be all/end all of VR hardware. Things like cost, fit and finish, ergonomics, UI, etc. all play a huge role in making an HMD attractive to potential buyers.

        • KeepBeingGood

          I own a Rift. I wasn’t arguing for Vive being better than Oculus. I was trying to imply that the guy shouldn’t use a fake statistic comparison between PCVR headsets to strengthen another fake statistic between PC and Mobile VR.

          When playing the steam version of Beat Saber, I was relieved to find out you can use the Oculus SDK instead of Steamvr just for the reason that it’s so janky.

          I’m just tired of device supremacy on the internet. It happens between PC’s, cell phones, internet plans, game consoles, and now VR headsets. People keep an inner loyalty to something just so they can keep a false-racism toward another group of people who support the opposite. (The same thing has happened to every inch and second of human society.) Okay I’m done with that rant, now. Have a good day.

        • Get Schwifty!

          I held off on buying a Vive until the prices fell after going the Oculus + Touch route before. I have to agree with most of your criticisms (notably the SDE and limited viewpoint), while the better (not perfect) tracking of Vive is nice and the fewer cables, the overall Vive package ergonomically is inferior to Oculus _currently_. If the “knuckles” controllers (terrible name btw) ever get released by Valve, and with the eventual drop in prices of the Vive Pro headset then the tables could turn, but for now the overall balance is in Oculus favor IMHO.

    • Christian Lemke

      None of my friends bought a mobile VR headset in the last months but all of them bought apples. I think mobile VR is absolutely declining compared to apples. ;-)

      • MarquisDeSang

        You have no friends sorry.

        • Christian Lemke

          Cmon, my comparison is at least as good as yours :-)
          Now those 90% non-gamers without steam – what are they using the Go for. Wait I got the answer from the other comments. ^^

      • gothicvillas

        Your friens bought Apple.. lmao not really a compliment imo

      • Jistuce

        My friends have stopped buying apples entirely since they learned how to peel oranges.

    • Torben Bojer Christensen

      I simply don’t get that people are not more into what i think of as ‘full-vr’ (by 2018 standards) but are so much into the stand-alone units, the ‘semi-vr’ as i think of it

      …I would myself not even know what I should even use one of the stand-alone units for (what ever brand we are talking). They just don’t have the power to drive anything I would like to do with VR. So what is it people are buying them for? Porn?

      • Lucio Lima
        • Torben Bojer Christensen

          LOL. …Now i get the “Go” ;-)

          • polysix

            uhm, shouldn’t it be called the ‘oculus come’?

          • Torben Bojer Christensen

            Not if the goal is to distance yourself from the porn aspect – as in the satire link by Lucia Lima (my answer was to that post)

            Then it makes sense with “Go” (the opposite of “come”) and the request to Focus ;-)

          • NooYawker

            You never had a girl tell you to focus?

      • MosBen

        I agree regarding the Go, because 3DOF just isn’t enough for interactive content IMO, but I must say that the recent news about the Vive Focus has me more interested. And I’m eagerly awaiting news about Santa Cruz from Oculus. As soon as you can do room scale 6DOF with a mobile HMD, I have a feeling that it will become my primary VR setup.

      • Get Schwifty!

        There’s several reasons, mainly it’s due to the fact that many folks just don’t have or want to devote space to a standing room scale experience. One thing Oculus did get right is in predicting that seated play would be more common, and stand-alone units play into this. Likewise, people drop over a thousand dollars on a phone, but ask them to spend $500 on a VR device and you’d think you held them up at gunpoint or something, so the masses look for cheap. IF the quality of the visuals rivaled that of television, I think more people would open up to it at a higher cost. While we love VR, many people see it, think it’s neat, but have no desire to use it, hard as that is for us to appreciate. Then there is the moderate interest group that will flow to it when it is better. I suspect radio and television had similar adoption patterns, where a large number could see potential but held off on adoption until it reached a certain quality level.

    • ummm…

      …………did you just compare pcvr to oculus go……………………

      • MarquisDeSang

        Yes I did and you probably are an Oculus Go Virgin otherwise you would know.

        • ummm…

          i can imagine. a wonderful tether free experience where i can watch p0rn ;)

    • Lucidfeuer

      “If you factor that 90% of Rift owner never buy on Steam” and where is the source for that?

      • MarquisDeSang

        I am the source, because I represent every Rift owner. Steam is a piece of crap that require a lot of configuration to work.

        • Get Schwifty!

          There are few reasons to believe most Rift owners who are in dire need of VR software _don’t_ use Steam, it’s probably easily 90% or higher, so the figures are fairly reliable, especially considering almost everyone you talk to with Rift discusses the Steam VR Lab play. Personally, I like seeing a very split 50/50 market, it keeps both companies on their toes. Now, hopefully Vive will release real controllers one day by 2020 to match the Touch controllers released by Rift in 2017…. sorry to bring it up, but all the room scale tracking quality in the world doesn’t make up for this ridiculous dependency on Vive wands still…

          • NooYawker

            Over 90% of gamers use steam. Who has computers powerful enough to purchase PCVR systems? Gamers. So the 90% is actually extremely far fetched. Even 50% if ridiculous. MAYBE 20%. So while it’s possible Oculus users don’t purchase any VR games or use Steam VR but for them not to have steam, very small numbers.

    • JustATrollDon’tWorry

      “No hentai patch = no buy.” – MarquisDeSang May 22, 2018

    • I too think that Oculus Go is the best thing that has happened to VR. It is the product that will single-handedly make VR a mainstream market.

  • StopBeingStupid

    Cue device war supremacy in the Disqus.

  • Interesting that Vive is gaining ground again…

    • Get Schwifty!

      Due to the release and renewed interest of the Vive Pro.

  • Torben Bojer Christensen

    Well if others have reacted like me after receiving their Pro that might explain a lot. My VR playing is up something like 300-400% due to the joy of the more immersive picture quality and the effortlessness of putting it on and off (it was a turn off for me with the bothersome vanilla version – it took more ‘investment’ to go into VR then)

    Actually a shame one cannot see the numbers for the Pro separately.

    • polysix

      for me moving from my (sold) vive to rift did the same – rift is so comfy and slips on with one hand, never need to adjust anything (if left set just for yourself), baseball cap style. Vive was a nightmare, tons of adjusting everytime, felt like a brick, crappy controls… was glad to be rid of it. The screen upgrade may be nice in pro but it still has many of the vive issues that made me sell mine (and my PSVR).

      Rift is the only gen 1 hardware I’ve been mostly happy with, not perfect (god rays < though less annoying than vive ring rays which killed immersion for me) but the best for a good price right now.

      We need the next gen gpus to play out (come on nvidia!) + gen 2 from oculus before we can really see where VR is going long term.

    • NooYawker

      How is the screen door effect on the Pro?

      • Torben Bojer Christensen

        Well, the obvious 78% Percent better. One does not really notice the screendoor anymore, but you can still find it and make out individual pixels if you consciously look after for it (e.g. easily see a red pixel becommin clear on a blue background that makes it stand out and more).

        The big game changer is first and foremost how more crisp and detailed objects look up close together with the effect that the added resolution means you can view objects in detail at a greater distance, further improving immersion and making it possible to enjoy larger, open areas even more. It’s substantially better, but its still not near your eyes resolution as if your eyes is 1,5 meter away from a 4K 65 inch TV

        I’ll look forward to the bumb in resolution – it will be worth it, just like the resolution from the vanilla to the pro is worth it.

        • Torben Bojer Christensen

          Pictures say more than words…
          https://imgur.com/a/PeyiLPh
          (simply taken on a phone through the lenses by a user)

          • RavnosCC

            Thanks for that :) Now can I also have $800 please? …

          • MosBen

            That is pretty impressive, and more evidence to me that resolution really isn’t a primary issue for Gen 2. Is this equal to the resolution of a human eye? Of course not. Is it good enough that other improvements would do more to increase presence than a further bump in resolution? I think so.

          • brubble

            Still looks like Vaseline smeared glasses to me…. and all for the low low price of 1500? Get back to me when the quality at least matches the price.

          • Torben Bojer Christensen

            It is sharper in real life on both the vanilla and the pro than the improvised smeared mobile phone pictures tells. But it gives however a good idea about the relative difference in resolution.

      • it is worse than the $199 Oculus Go. No seriously!
        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zT4jQH-vGzI&t=857s

        • NooYawker

          So the Facebook made the Go better than their more expensive full VR system the Rift.

          • that’s because the Go is a newer product dude
            (The HTC Vive Pro is also a new product so no excuse there)

          • Torben Bojer Christensen

            The Go is a cheaper product so the display technology also differs. The Go have cheaper LCD panels in it but they have higher resolution. Higher resolution is always good AND important. But true vidiophiles will still prefer the combination of high resolution AND good display technology with all it entail. The Vive pro have the highest spec OLED panels currently available for VR – So no excuse needed. And even higher resolution OLEDs are in development and will most likely be in the next high end Rifts and Vives. I am very happy there is not cheaper LCD panel in the high end sets!

          • Torben Bojer Christensen

            No need for HTC, Samsung or ASUS etc. to excuse their choice of the both overall better, more expensive and higher resolution OLED display, as found in the odyssey and the Pro, as it represents the best available display at the time the products are made.

            Resolution is very important, pixel arrangement also holds its own advantages, but the display technology itself is also an very important factor. Yes, the screen door is a little better because of the RGB pixel array of the Go’s cheaper LCD displays. But, the real argument for them in the Go comes down to their price. Well, if you are not particular into video quality they might do. However, videophiles prefer both resolution AND better display technology with all that it entails with regard to video quality. And as it is even visible to see from the ‘through lenses shots’ in the video, it is clear to see the Pro/odyssey displays have better shadow details, better dynamics, more varied color palette and a visible less smeared and sharper picture together with the better definition of both shadow details, color variance and detail. So, if you want to punk Vive for anything regarding the Pro it should be that the lenses have not been upgraded and the price is directly insulting to home users. But the display is the best overall choice they could make at the time.

            I am very happy we do not find the cheaper LCD displays in the newer higher-end VR sets. Also, even higher resolution OLED displays are in development and I both expect and look forward to see those in the next versions of Rift/Vive and other higher-end VR solutions.

          • Torben Bojer Christensen

            Resolution: Yes
            Display technology: No

    • ummm…

      so true. i cant tell you how many times ive just given up on putting my vive on and opened a window to jump out before being talked off the ledge by a crisis negotiator. i just couldnt take having to velcro strap my luxury electronic….. ;)

    • Mythos88

      If you click on the VR line you will see the Vive Pro separated. Though they don’t do the same for the WMR headsets for some reason. The pro entered the chart for the first time though it is responsible for .01% of that .72%

  • NooYawker

    How is oculus rift full room scale with just 2 sensors? Because that’s what you get for $400 right?

    • Hi NooYawker,

      while admittedly not as robust as a 3-sensor setup (or more), Oculus does support 2-sensor 360 setups. Check out Oculus’ guide how to do it here: https://bit.ly/2HiGEzL

      • gothicvillas

        NooYawker was reffering to a full room scale on Vive and more limited option on Rift. Everyone knows 2 sensors on rift is more for seated standing experience. Comparing apples to oranges imo.

    • ummm…

      lol. but how much longer can we thumb our noses over this? shit is changing – and htc/valve better have the next phase somewhere close to release. Although i wont hold my breathe. Im starting to feel like the vive pro is what theyve got to offer for a little bit. Where do they go next? immediately make the vive pro obsolete? id still rather have my vive/vive pro tho.

    • Lucidfeuer

      Let’s say that unless you have a large living room or office space dedicated to VR, the Oculus is able to track on the same “bedroom” sized-space as the Vive (albeit a bit less accurate).

    • Get Schwifty!

      If you have a clear space with a computer and the USB bandwidth that is sufficient it works fine. It’s been this way basically since before it’s release and there are loads of videos showing devs using it this way with only two sensors. It is not as smooth as three for tracking, but with sufficient hardware it works pretty well.

  • NooYawker

    Looks like the real winner here is Steam.

    • ummm…

      indeed. indeed.

  • Tobiscus

    Not sure how long these numbers will matter since Facebook is pulling out of PC VR and is focusing on stand-alone.

    • ummm…

      ……say wha?

    • MosBen

      I personally think that in the long run they’ll phase out the PC VR side of their business, or reduce its focus significantly, but at least right now there’s no indication that that is happening at all, let alone anytime soon.

    • dk

      when the stand alone headset is good enough it will get an optional video in form a pc …..the incentive to do it and added value is too huge …..not to do that

    • Torben Bojer Christensen

      What?!? …No rift 2?
      …Source?

  • MosBen

    Do we have an idea of how these numbers translate to actual units? What does .72% of Steam users represent in actual number of HMDs? The last I saw Rift and Vive sales were somewhere around 500,000 combined, but that was a while ago.

    • Lucidfeuer

      Well that’s how you create PR with absolutely baseless information. As far as I’m concerned both headset could have catastrophic sales progression while the HTC just “gained grounds” on the few headsets sold.

      • MosBen

        So…the answer is no then?

        • Lucidfeuer

          You guessed it. Companies with successful sale numbers are never shy publishing them, but when they don’t only to spew convoluted PR, it means what it means…

  • Mateusz Pawluczuk

    I was hoping WMR headsets would gain a bit more considering Windows rolled out a full Steam support (instead of beta support).

  • MarquisDeSang

    So you are missing on the best VR exculives games paid for by Oculus Studio.

  • NooYawker

    Anyone who games has steam installed on their PC.