Analysts predict explosive revenue growth of virtual reality projects in the near future.
According to game industry researchers from the American company SuperData, after a slow start in 2016, the VR market is ripe for further expansion. The expected revenue of software and services sales in the VR segment for this year will be about $1.3 billion, exceeding the same figures last year by more than four times ($ 300 million in 2016).
But the hardware component remains the main driver of the virtual reality technology market. SuperData assumes that revenues from sales of virtual reality helmets will remain at a high level until 2020. Revenue of VR devices is expected to grow already in 2017 to $3.6 billion, by 142% compared to 2016. In total, about 21 million virtual reality helmets should be sold in the world this year.
In the future, experts predict the success of augmented (AR) and mixed (MR) reality devices. “MR devices like Microsoft Hololens are not ready for the consumer market yet, but in the long term they should surpass VR in popularity and revenue,” SuperData reports.
Source: Games Industry