Last August the Virtual Reality Developers Conference (VRDC) published its first report on the state of the VR industry based off of a survey for developers. The results suggested that marginally more developers were working on the HTC Vive than the Oculus Rift. A little less than a year on and the second report has been published, and the gap between the two has slightly increased.
The second VR/AR Innovation Report gathered answers from more than 600 developers working in VR, AR, and MR. Last year saw over 500 participants so take note of that when considering the difference in percentages. Of this year’s developers, 56% said they were working on the Vive, while 49% said they were working on the Rift. That’s a 7% gap, a bit larger than the 5.4% gap in last year’s survey, so both headsets have still grown in adoption. Sony’s PlayStation VR (PSVR) has made some gains, jumping from 12.9% to 19%.
Other platforms like Google Daydream and Microsoft HoloLens are all up, though it’s surprising to see the slightest decrse for Gear VR from 33.8% to 33%.
Those figures are reflected in the next section, showcasing which platforms developer’s next apps will be releases on. Vive wins out again at 52%, though Rift is much closer behind at 50%. From there, Gear VR, Daydream, Cardboard and PSVR follow in that order.
Somewhat surprisingly, Vive is also the most popular platform for exclusive releases. 35% plan on releasing their app exclusively on HTC’s headset compared to 13% on the Rift, despite Oculus catching a lot of heat for funding exclusive content. It’s possible, though, that many of these developers simply intend on releasing on Vive first before porting their projects over to the Rift and PSVR.
Elsewhere, the survey found that most projects are being funded by developer’s existing and personal funds. Only 5% say their projects are being funded by an external publisher. Most believe the tech will finally become profitable in the medium term, but only 16% believe it will happen in the short term. 8% think it never will.
Overall this year’s report seems to be business as usual. There aren’t huge signs of growth here but VR and AR are still in their infancy. It might take some time before we see big changes in these surveys.
