Virtual Reality game development and VR environments are no longer surprising or entirely new. Even many tech giants such as HTC, Google, Microsoft, Samsung, Facebook and Sony have all contributed to the growth of this industry and introduced their own virtual reality headsets that offer immersive experiences. 2022 is marked as the year when many such high-end VR headsets are introduced, fueling the evolution of VR gaming and setting even higher expectations and hopes for VR technology. The variety of these devices offers freedom of choice in interacting with virtual reality. But this diversity also becomes a matter of concern for technologists. Which VR platform is worth choosing for game development? In this Tech Town article, we’ll take a look at some of the best VR headset platforms available today for game development and see what experiences we can achieve with them.

The most popular VR headset platform for developers

According to the Game Developers Conference 2017 report, the number of businesses turning to virtual reality game development has doubled since 2016, from 6 to 13%. The variety of platforms available has also led to changes in developer preferences this year.

The survey conducted by GDC 2022 has shown that currently, HTC Vive is maintaining the largest number of votes as the currently active game development platform (24% of the respondents). The Oculus Rift is also very close to these results, agreeing with 23% of respondents.

45% of survey respondents among VR game developers think that HTC Vive is the most exciting VR platform for game development. Compared to a similar survey held in 2016, consideration of the Oculus Rift is decreasing (40% in 2016).

Here’s a breakdown of the best VR headsets available right now for game developers:

HTC Vive

HTC Vive is a collaboration between Valve, a giant PC game developer, and HTC, a hardware company. The headset provides a fully immersive virtual reality experience with external tracking sensors.

There are several reasons to choose HTC Vive as your business’ VR development platform, and its current popularity is not the only reason. Valve owns Steam, a super-massive PC gaming platform, and also owns the reputation of one of the most innovative and thriving VR game development companies respected by the community. Valve’s hardware has no similar prototype and is considered an innovative VR environment. HTC Vive is considered a developer-friendly VR development platform as it ensures a seamless gaming experience and has extensive developer network support.

Oculus Rift

The Oculus Rift is one of the most popular and high-tech virtual reality gaming platforms, quite close to the HTC Vive. More than 77% of GDC developers have used the Oculus platform for game development. The Oculus platform has become the starting point for VR development by many game developers around the world.

The Oculus Rift has often been identified with VR since the headset’s story began with its Kickstarter campaign in 2012, a time when there was widespread interest in virtual reality devices. Since then, Oculus has become a trusted brand owned by Facebook (now Meta). It appeared on the market long before other VR gaming platforms were introduced. Meta provides strong engineer support to help developers create VR games for the Oculus Rift.

PlayStation VR

Sony’s PlayStation VR is most lauded for providing a slick and effortless VR experience. Although the Sony PlayStation VR headset hit the market in late 2016, it still maintains a strong fan base based on the brand’s history. 15% of game developers are already making games for this headset.

PlayStation is considered a virtual reality gaming platform that is easy to develop and distribute due to the use of a single set of hardware specifications. It’s the only VR game platform that consistently nurtures game developers, provides funding to support new development partnerships and projects, and also helps make more VR games compatible with VR. more equipment.

HoloLens

Microsoft HoloLens has made the list of the most popular game development platforms while it is really an augmented reality viewing device – AR, not VR. HoloLens is untethered and self-sustaining and enables the building of high-quality 3D photo-experience applications.

Unlike the VR platform, it is presented as a device that not only contains games but also mainstream applications (e.g. Skype) and thus it can be used for any kind of activity. Every day, unrestricted in the entertainment sector. A developer competition held in May 2017 organized by Microsoft and Unity revealed their interest in turning HoloLens into an AR device that helps solve real-life problems. and make it useful instead of just focusing on entertainment.

Google Daydream View

With Google’s Daydream View, users place their phones in a headset that functions as a monitor and provides a high-quality VR experience for games and apps that can be downloaded from the Play Store. The lens splits the screen into two images. Operations are controlled with the help of a pairable remote control in the user’s hand.

When Daydream View hit the market, Netflix, HBO, and Hulu created apps for it. Not all phones support Daydream View, but in Google IO 2017, it was confirmed that Daydream View will go through a transition, users will be able to experience VR without a phone, computer or cable. The headset will include all the parts that provide the VR experience.

Samsung Gear VR

This is a VR development platform that is the result of cooperation between Oculus and Samsung, it is often considered a reasonable alternative to Oculus Rift among low-end VR platforms.

The Samsung Gear VR headset will be suitable for game developers who don’t want to create a high-end VR experience but are just taking the first steps in virtual reality game development. The library of apps and games for the Samsung Gear VR is also solid, although they don’t work on all phones. Regular improvements are made that will enhance the immersive experience and add the potential to turn VR into a mainstream.

Each of the VR platforms reviewed above offers full support for game developers, has its own approach to marketing, and beats the competition. VR development platforms target different levels of virtual reality experiences, from those that are struggling to provide the most realistic experience for gamers (HTC Vive) to those focused on low-end solutions (Samsung Gear VR) and also those who want to add value to VR/AR by making it useful in solving everyday problems. 

Predicting the winner of this VR race is impossible, as trends have shown that leaders can be easily changed if one of the competitors can provide a better and more powerful feature to the game. warmly welcomed by VR game developers.

Tech Town hopes the information provided above will be useful for businesses. If your business is looking for a reputable AR VR application development company, with a team of highly qualified engineers at a reasonable cost, Tech Town is confident o become the right choice for your business.

Tech Town is a technology company from Vietnam, with representative offices in the United States, Japan, Canada, and the Netherlands,… We provide AR & VR application development services for businesses, optimize content delivery with immersive technologies, enhance the performance of decentralized systems, enhance customer experience, and delight next-generation users. For more than 4 years of operation, Tech Town has become a reputable technology partner trusted by startups and enterprises from many countries around the world such as the US, Canada, the Netherlands, Japan, the UK, and other developed countries.

Contact us if your business has any technological challenges.