The State of VR Game Development on Meta’s Store: Declining Sales and Discoverability Issues
With concerns about declining sales and discoverability, UploadVR interviewed nearly two dozen VR studios to understand the current state of shipping VR games on Quest. Despite Meta’s lead in VR and AR and reporting record revenues, many developers are now struggling to make a profit and support their teams long-term.
For Those Just Joining Us
Quest 3S appears to have had a successful launch last year, with titles like Batman: Arkham Shadow reaching over one million players. Meta’s Reality Labs division reported its highest-ever quarterly revenue. However, many developers are experiencing a downturn.
For example, some developers have seen sales drop between 50-80% in 2024 compared to 2023. Others note that Quest 3S’s launch did not translate into expected sales spikes.
In a recent memo, Meta’s CTO Andrew Bosworth highlighted the importance of Horizon Worlds on mobile, suggesting 2025 will determine whether Meta’s investments are lucrative or a misadventure.
Horizon Worlds
Many developers feel that the increasing focus on Horizon Worlds is detracting from the store’s success. They view this push as a strategy to attract younger audiences, who tend to prefer free-to-play content.
Metro Awakening, for instance, received more user reviews on PS VR2 than Quest, despite being released on both platforms.
One developer states, “Meta is not interested in being a gaming platform anymore — they just want to be a metaverse, and they just happen to have a legacy store.”
App Lab Removal, Curation Cessation & Search
Meta’s decision to merge App Lab with the main store has stifled the visibility of smaller releases. Many developers see this move as problematic due to the lack of curation.
Developer Kevin Walker adds, “I do expect that if someone searches for Puzzle games, they can actually see ALL puzzle games.”
Attack Of The Gorilla Tag Clones And Discoverability
The current store experience is overwhelmed by free-to-play titles like Gorilla Tag clones. These apps often take up the top spots in search results, overshadowing more polished releases.
One developer laments, “This demographic typically spends less compared to adult gamers, raising the question: where have the adult VR gamers gone?”
Decreasing Sales
The decline in store sales has prompted some developers to explore alternative platforms. For example, Into The Radius 2 has seen nearly $3 million in revenue on Steam early access, compared to its predecessor on Meta.
Another stated, “Steam gives me a much lower reach, but it’s a much bigger pond, so I would expect that.”
Quest+ Subscriptions
Quest+ offers a curated selection of games accessible via subscription. While it can help bring in revenue, it risk making users less likely to purchase individual games.
“It is a great option and helps users discover great content BUT it cannot be the only method for doing so,” one developer opined.
Better Sales On Steam or PS VR2?
While Quest remains the dominant platform for many VR games, some titles have seen better sales on Steam and PS VR2.
“We have similar numbers on Meta as we do on Steam, but much higher on PlayStation,” one studio noted.
Max Mustard, a VR platformer, sold better on PS VR2 than Quest in the first two weeks.
Considering Non-VR Platforms
The financial challenges can force developers to consider other platforms. Toast Interactive explored hybrid titles, while some are pivotting completely to flat-screen gaming.
“The Quest Store is not on a good path. As a result, we will see a good amount of VR studios close or pivot to non-VR in the next years, leading to a big drop in quality games 2-3 years down the line,” one developer expressed.
Layoffs
Recession-related impacts are causing layoffs across the industry, including VR studios.
