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Quest 2 VR headset outsells Xbox Series X/S consoles

Quest 2 VR headset outsells Xbox Series X/S consoles

Standalone VR headset Quest 2 from Meta (formerly Oculus under Facebook) has outsold Microsoft's Xbox Series X/S consoles, according to the latest information from the International Data Corporation (IDC)

According to a Tweet by Francisco Jeronimo, associate VP, devices EMEA, lifetime unit sales for Quest 2 have now exceeded 14.8 million. That compares favourably with the latest combined sales data for Series X/S at 11.4 million to year end 2021, at which time Quest 2 was just 0.2m behind.

Jeronimo said, "OculusQuest2 is the most successful #VR headset to date. With nearly 15mn units sold since its announcement at @facebook Connect 7 in Sep 2020, the Quest2 has contributed to massive growth in VR sales & consumer adoption."

Although Jeronimo states that "VR Sales grew 97% in 2021", according to the IDC's Worldwide Quarterly AR/VR Headset Tracker, the global market for augmented and virtual reality headsets grew 92.1% year over year in 2021, with almost half the annual volume shipped during the holiday season.

IDC says this was, "A record year that hasn't seen similar volumes since 2016 when low-cost VR screenless viewers such as Samsung's Gear VR reigned supreme".

Quest 2 Number 1

Reinforcing the Quest 2's established and unchallenged place at the top of the monthly Steam hardware survey, IDC reports that Meta's Quest 2 was by far the most popular product with 78% share of the combined AR/VR market during the year.

"Meta has led the AR/VR industry by offering a very accessibly priced headset and by moving beyond the core gaming audience, piquing the interest of non-gamers as well as businesses,” said Jitesh Ubrani, research manager for IDC Mobility and Consumer Device Trackers.

With Jeronimo reporting 242% growth for VR sales in the first quarter of this year, whether Meta will continue to dominate in the face of anticipated hardware launches remains to be seen.

Ubrani observed that, "The company still lacks major competitors though that will likely change over the course of the next 12 to 18 months when Sony will re-enter the space with the PSVR2, and we continue to expect headsets from the likes of Apple and other smartphone vendors to eventually launch and garner a lot of attention from end users.”


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Steve is an award-winning editor and copywriter with nearly 25 years’ experience specialising in consumer technology and video games. He was part of a BAFTA nominated developer studio. In addition to editing TheVirtualReport.biz, Steve contributes to BeyondGames.biz, PocketGamer.biz, PCGamesInsider.biz and BlockchainGamer.biz, as well as creating marketing content for a range of SMEs and agencies.