It turns out being unable to escape our homes was good for escapism.
PwC’s annual Global Entertainment and Media (E&M) Outlook 2021-2025 report found that virtual reality was 2020’s fastest growing E&M segment.
To be sure: 2020 was a pretty weird year
With many sectors shut down for months, global E&M revenue dropped 3.8%, accounting for a loss of $81B. That’s the biggest drop since PwC started doing its report 22 years ago.
Segments impacted by the pandemic, like live music and cinema, took hits of 70%+, but at-home entertainment grew.
VR content revenue reached $1.8B, a 31.7% YoY increase, and got a big boost from 2 releases:
- VR video game “Half-Life: Alyx,” which saw 1.9m sales in its 1st 6 months
- The Oculus Quest 2 headset, which quickly outpaced previous Oculus sales
But will it last?
PwC predicts that VR revenue will continue to increase by 30% each year, hitting $6.9B by 2025 — way short of video games’ predicted $194B, but not bad.
Still, The Information predicts VR needs to diversify content beyond games — including fitness and live entertainment apps — to maintain steady growth.
BTW, we’re still over here meditating and “tripping” in VR.
