Windows Mixed Reality headset use is growing steadily, now accounts for 10% of Steam VR data

2 min. read

Published on April 4, 2019

published on April 4, 2019

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Windows Mixed Reality VR headsets are seeing increase usage on Steam according to the company’s latest hardware and software survey. In March 2019, Windows Mixed Reality VR headsets accounted for 10.57% of VR headsets used on Steam, though remaining far behind the Oculus Rift (47.55%) and the HTC VIVE (39.55%). Still, Windows Mixed Reality headsets didn’t exist two years ago, so crossing a double-digit market share in such a short time frame is quite impressive.

This deserves more attention:

Market share of @Windows Mixed Reality VR headsets has been steadily growing over the past year

Source: SteamVR usage. Doesn’t include Oculus Store usage https://t.co/MKWPJ787ju

WinMR 10.57%
HTC Vive 39.55%
Oculus Rift 47.55% pic.twitter.com/8xqIlfdF6o

— Darshan Shankar (@DShankar) April 3, 2019

The first Windows Mixed Reality headsets launched in Fall 2017, at a time when Microsoft and its hardware partners wanted to democratize the technology. Microsoft still doesn’t have a lot of content on its own Windows Mixed Reality Platform, but a SteamVR bridge quickly addressed this problem. The Windows 10 19H1 update will also bring support for legacy desktop apps in the Windows Mixed Reality environnement, something that was introduced back in February in the preview build 18329.

It’s still early days for Windows Mixed Reality headsets, and as Microsoft is focused on business users with HoloLens 2, the software giant is leaving its hardware partners do the heavy lifting. A couple of weeks ago, we saw HP announce its new high-end Reverb WMR headset featuring a 2160 x 2160 per eye screen resolution and an expanded 114-degree field of view.

Radu Tyrsina

Radu Tyrsina has been a Windows fan ever since he got his first PC, a Pentium III (a monster at that time). For most of the kids of his age, the Internet was an amazing way to play and communicate with others, but he was deeply impressed by the flow of information and how easily you can find anything on the web. Prior to founding Windows Report, this particular curiosity about digital content enabled him to grow a number of sites that helped hundreds of millions reach faster the answer they're looking for.