There are now more VR gamers on Steam than Linux gamers
And it’s gaining on MacOS, too.
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What you need to know
2019 continues to prove to be the biggest year in VR’s history, and oneTwitter userpointed out that VR recently passed a rather interesting set of milestones. Windows has long been the OS of choice for PC gamers on Steam, with MacOS and Linux trailing far behind. While there has been an ebb and flow in the number of users on each of these platforms, VR has continued to grow and now sports double the number of users of Linux and nearly as many as MacOS.
Before we get too far into the numbers though, it’s worth noting that the Steam monthly hardware survey is an optional survey that’s sent out to a random pool of users, and participation in the survey is anonymous. This optional nature means there’s always going to be a percentage of gamers that don’t respond or who don’t fill out all the fields. The random nature also means that the data generated isnota completely accurate look at the entire pool of active Steam gamers.
With that said, statistical trends are fun and there’s a definite correlation to the data we see in the January 2020 Steam hardware survey and the fact that the Valve Index, Oculus Rift S, and Oculus Quest have allbeen backorderedfor some time. Looking at the January 2020 Steam numbers in more detail, only 0.9% of respondents stated that they utilize Linux as their main OS, while 3.01% of users were on MacOS.
Compared with these more niche OS platforms, VR gamers made up 1.31% of respondents. That’s the highest number ever recorded, and a 0.22% bump over December 2019’s numbers. The largest jump is seen by the Oculus Rift S, with a 0.11% increase in user base from December 2019, but it’s well worth noting that the Oculus Quest shows up as an Oculus Rift S when connected through Oculus Link, which could very well skew these numbers quite a bit.
While the Oculus Rift S and Oculus Quest are the same price ($399), the Oculus Quest represents thebest value in VRas it can also be played anywhere without the need to tether it to a PC. It’s important to note that exact statistics cannot be accurately extracted from an optional, random survey, but they do represent an important growth metric leading up to big 2020 VR releases likeHalf-Life: Alyx.
Roomscale without the extra hardware
The Oculus Rift S is one of the most affordable ways to get into PC-powered VR, and it’s a much less complicated setup than many other PC-powered VR solutions. Get all of SteamVR and Oculus with a single headset.
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Nick started with DOS and NES and uses those fond memories of floppy disks and cartridges to fuel his opinions on modern tech. Whether it’s VR, smart home gadgets, or something else that beeps and boops, he’s been writing about it since 2011. Reach him on Twitter or Instagram @Gwanatu
