Valves latest SteamVR survey shows another drop in Windows Mixed Reality usage in August. From a peak of 11.13% usage is down to 8.24% with biggest growth being with Oculus Rift S which has overtaken WMR at 10.85%.
I should say the Survey is not very scientific and I have never seem the survey on my machine.
Long-term Microsoft fans will have seen the story before. Microsoft launches an exciting new product, it gains some traction and then Microsoft seems to give up and the platform dies a slow death. Maybe Microsoft will surprise up with new devices but I think the focus is on enterprise HoloLens 2.
One thought on “Windows Mixed Reality usage drops to 8.24% on Steam”
This isn’t a “survey” that you fill out, it’s data collected by Valve when you run the Steam client. Steam collects all kinds of system information when you run it, including all of your CPU, GPU, RAM, and all of your USB device IDs. If you have a VR headset (or a specific keyboard, mouse, etc) plugged in and powered on, Steam knows about it and what type it is based on the USB manufacturer and device ID codes.
They collect this data and sell it to software companies, who use it to determine the cost/benefit of features in their games, and their near-monopolistic status as a game distribution platform has made this function crucial. For example, most games are currently optimized to run on a GTX1060 and a quad core CPU, because that profile matches the vast majority of gamers, and more games have been released that support more CPU cores since the last two years has seen a big uptick in that stat.
So, while you are correct that it’s in no way scientific, the fact is that it has become an essential part of the gaming industry, and has massive influence on the way games are made.
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This isn’t a “survey” that you fill out, it’s data collected by Valve when you run the Steam client. Steam collects all kinds of system information when you run it, including all of your CPU, GPU, RAM, and all of your USB device IDs. If you have a VR headset (or a specific keyboard, mouse, etc) plugged in and powered on, Steam knows about it and what type it is based on the USB manufacturer and device ID codes.
They collect this data and sell it to software companies, who use it to determine the cost/benefit of features in their games, and their near-monopolistic status as a game distribution platform has made this function crucial. For example, most games are currently optimized to run on a GTX1060 and a quad core CPU, because that profile matches the vast majority of gamers, and more games have been released that support more CPU cores since the last two years has seen a big uptick in that stat.
So, while you are correct that it’s in no way scientific, the fact is that it has become an essential part of the gaming industry, and has massive influence on the way games are made.