The Quest 3 goes through another growth spurt in Steam’s VR charts

Around the holidays, you’ve had plenty of opportunities to get yourself one of the best VR headsets — or better yet, get gifted one for X-mas! — and if you did, I won’t be surprised if it turned out to be the Quest 3.

Meta’s latest headset can certainly get that coveted “... and greatest” attachment to its descriptor. As of the start of 2024, this is still the most powerful commercially available XR headset, capable of your typical VR shenanigans, but impressive MR feats too.

So when I’m saying that I’m not surprised, I’m not just assuming here. The Quest 3’s spec sheet, combined with Meta’s huge library of apps and games just makes for a no-brainer choice, if you’re not in the market for a budget-friendly VR solution.

Oh, and there’s also Steam’s hardware survey for December 2023, which proves that the Quest 3 is getting more popular.



So, what’s a “Steam survey” and why do we care about it? Basically, this is Valve — the company behind the gaming platform — sourcing some anonymous info from Steam users with the ultimate goal of getting an semi-objective snapshot of what hardware and software the PC gaming populace is using, for the given period.

And, yes, that includes PC VR compatible headsets too. Just like the Quest 3.

Last time we checked on the Quest 3’s popularity with Steam users, Meta’s headset had managed to rank in the top five spot just about a month after it had released. And now the hit-headset has gone a bit higher, ranking at number four.

So, okay: a single spot up may not sound like much, but consider this: it’s not even been out for three months yet, at the time of writing. This is certainly a good sign for the adoption rate for the Quest 3, especially when you take into consideration that these are PC VR gamers alone.

Meta doesn’t really share stats on Quest users, who take advantage of the Quest 3 primarily in standalone mode, but I’m willing to bet that a large chunk of people are having fun with the headset precisely like that.

So, basically, a lot more people have gotten their hands on a Quest 3 than what Steam indicates, and yet: Valve’s numbers prove that 2024 is starting off really nicely for Meta. But will the company manage to retain that momentum in such a busy year? Time will tell.

And if you’re wondering…

What games the PC VR crowd is playing, you can check these articles out: