As one of the biggest tech trends in the past decade, with millions of users in both the consumer and business sector, virtual reality (VR) has hit impressive shipment and revenue figures.
According to data, more than 51 million VR headsets have been shipped worldwide in the past five years.
The Installed Base of VR headsets to Surge from 51 million to Almost 100 million by 2024
Over the past years, the global VR demand has increased significantly. Although gaming remains at the forefront of consumer VR, the technology has found other use cases, like virtual concerts and virtual workouts. Many businesses have also increased their usage of virtual reality, from teaching and designing, to manufacturing and creating a better user experience
The surge in the use of VR technology has been the biggest driver behind impressive shipment growth. A Statista survey shows 51.1 million VR headsets have been shipped worldwide in the past five years. Over 65% of total sales were made in 2021 and 2022, record years for VR shipments.
Statistics show more than 14.2 million VR headsets were shipped in 2021 alone, almost double the number seen a year before. In 2022, total shipments jumped to over 19 million worldwide, or more than in 2018, 2019, and 2020 combined.
Statista expects another 21.7 million units to be shipped this year, despite the sales slowing down. By 2024, the installed base of VR headsets is expected to hit almost 100 million worldwide.
VR Headsets Market to Gross $9.1B in 2023, 13% more than Last Year
The surging demand for VR technology has also pushed the market revenue to new record highs. According to Statista, global VR headset sales are expected to bring in $9.1bn in revenue in 2023, or 13% more than last year. This also represents a significant increase from the $3.4bn the entire market grossed just three years ago.
More than 30% of total revenue comes from China, the world’s largest VR market. Statistics show Chinese consumers and businesses will spend around $2.8bn on VR headsets this year, or one billion dollars more than those in the United States, the second-largest market. Far below, Japan ranked third with $610.9bn in VR headset revenue in 2023. The United Kingdom and France follow, with $399.7bn and $385bn, respectively.
