Meta Quest 3 finally overtakes the Valve Index

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Meta Quest 3 VR headset with its controllers
It’s finally happened: the Meta Quest 3 — which has long sulked in third place — has finally overtaken the Valve Index on Steam and landed in second place. These results come from Steam’s hardware and software surveys which give an idea of what equipment the average Steam user is playing games on.

The Quest 3 has been coming third for quite some time, with Valve Index remaining second and Quest 2 leading the charge. Valve Index, though quite a dated headset by now, remains a cult classic and retains a dedicated user base.

However, let’s be honest, it was only a matter of time. The Quest 3 is newer, faster, shinier and can run some of today’s best VR games without a PC. Give it enough time and I’m certain it’ll overtake the Quest 2 as well, especially now that many newer apps and games are dropping Quest 2 support.

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Excellent VR gaming on an even better budget. | Video credit — Meta

As it stands, the Quest 2 is going to remain king for a while in my opinion. It accounts for a whopping 38% of the VR user base on Steam, while Quest 3 is at 17% and the Index makes up 15%. Funnily enough, fourth place goes to the old Oculus Rift S, showing how stagnant the XR (Extended Reality) industry has remained for a few years.

That’s not to say we haven’t been getting new headsets or brilliant new games. It’s just that only 25 percent of adults have used VR. According to that study retention is quite high, which means all we really need is for more people to try out VR so they realize it’s not just a silly gimmick.

Fortunately, the Apple Vision Pro has brought a lot of attention to the XR industry. And now more people know about Meta’s upcoming AI-powered AR smart glasses as well, something that I personally am very excited for.

Our Meta Quest 3 review deemed it to be one of the best VR headsets you can buy today. And there’s been no better time to jump into VR, so what are you waiting for?

Oh, perhaps the rumored Meta Quest 3S which might be announced this month.
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