Following a slow start—as many new technologies do—virtual reality/XR is poised to accelerate as adoption increases. Driven by augmented reality and mixed reality and successful titles, the XR market will reach a combined $7.7B in 2018 across hardware and software.
AR and MR revenue will more than double to $3.2B this year, with most of these earnings coming from mobile AR apps like Niantic’s Pokémon GO and the upcoming Harry Potter: Wizards Unite. Games will continue to earn the majority (58%) of virtual reality software revenue in 2018; consumers are willing to pay for games whereas they are still reluctant to spend on content like VR videos. Non-gaming entertainment will need to rely more on advertising than direct revenue to make money.
In this new market brief from SuperData’s gold standard XR research, stakeholders will gain insight into the VR/AR/MR market and its growth, the top VR games and revenues, case studies of the greatest successes, and insights on the XR development landscape.
Some more insights from the latest report:
Bethesda titles topped the charts in 2017, with top earners Fallout 4 on PC and Skyrim VR on PSVR. Despite a disappointing release for Doom VFR, ports of Bethesda RPGs still beat out other games of 2017.
Nearly half of VRs’ enterprise users are educational companies and institutions. Schools and hospitals are using VR but can have limited spending power. A smaller number of major conglomerates in fields like retail and automobiles are willing to invest substantially in VR.
AR and MR are on track to pull in $1.4B of the $1.9B invested in immersive technology this year. The proliferation of mobile AR solutions and the development of compelling MR technology is becoming a more interesting proposition to investors as VR goes through its gap of disappointment.
Mobile AR will be the primary driver for revenue through 2021, earning roughly twice as much as software for AR/ MR headsets. AR and MR headsets will remain costly for the general population in the next few years, making it difficult for the audience to reach critical mass and generate significant software earnings in the near future.
