It’s widely thought that PSVR 2, Sony’s next-gen VR headset for PlayStation 5, is expected to release sometime the last half of 2022, which would position it as a pretty tempting gift for this holiday season. Now, a report from noted PSVR leaker ‘PSVR Without Parole‘ alleges the headset will launch instead in early 2023.

YouTuber ‘PSVR Without Parole’ is known for having accurately leaked some of PSVR 2’s specs ahead of the official announce by Sony.

Citing what the channel calls “credible sources,” PSVR Without Parole now maintains Sony may launch PSVR 2 sometime in Q1 2023, which is owed to the fact that PS5 is still (and will continue to be) very hard to come by.

We haven’t independently confirmed these claims, so we’re suggesting our readers to take it with a grain of salt.

Image courtesy Sony

As noted by PSVR Without Parole, if Sony wants to maximize its PSVR 2 install base it needs to get PS5 into more hands.

Earlier this month, Sony revealed that it had sold 17.3 million PS5 consoles up until the end of 2021. Despite high demand, the ongoing chip shortage caused by the recent global manufacturing slowdown has seen the company readjust its 2022 sales forecasts from 14.8m units down to 11.5m units.

Provided it hits the top end of that forecast, it would mean around 32 million PS5 consoles will be in the wild by the end of 2022.

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To put that figure into perspective: when Sony launched PSVR in October 2016 it had already sold around 40 million PS4 consoles worldwide.

It’s interesting to see Sony adopt the slow-drip method of releasing info on PSVR 2. The company first revealed PSVR 2’s Sense controllers back in March 2021. Nearly a year later, at CES 2022 Sony finally tossed out specs for the headset, but no price or release date.

Just last week Sony revealed PSVR 2’s design, showing off updated Sense controllers and the headset itself, which physically tethers to PS5 via a cable.

Again, we’re still waiting on price, release, launch titles… a lot of room for more bit-by-bit info for Sony to cover if its hoping to build more hype proceeding a release date that would realistically only be delayed by a few months.

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Scott Hayden
Well before the first modern XR products hit the market, Scott recognized the potential of the technology and set out to understand and document its growth. He has been professionally reporting on the space for nearly a decade as Editor at Road to VR, authoring more than 4,000 articles on the topic. Scott brings that seasoned insight to his reporting from major industry events across the globe.
  • Fabian

    Too slow, I dont think I will still care when this gets finally released.

    • Dave

      I was just thinking the same. Very odd choice. It’s far from having the best specifications and if it releases in 2023, that will almost certainly be after Meta has released Cambria and with the possibility of Deckhard and Reality hot on it’s heels then the PSVR 2 is going to look like the poor relation (again!).

      • MeowMix

        and to add, the Quest3 very well could release late 2023, since Q4 2023 would mark a 3 year lifecycle for the Quest2 (the same 3 yr lifecycle that was given to the Rift CV1).

        PLUS !! Apple’s VR headset is rumored to have been pushed to 2023. 2023 will be a busy year

        • jimmy

          psvr 2 gonna feel like the psvr 1 by the time third gen standalone release

    • Exactly my thoughts. The latter they launch, the less interesting it will be

    • Merzcat

      Well Apple and Meta are releasing new HMDs around the same time so Sony will just take advantage of the hype surrounding those releases.

    • Blaexe

      PSVR2 will be on the market for years and years – supported by the best games we’ll get anytime soon.

      I’d like to have it at home rather sooner than later but it will be just as interesting in Q1 2023. There’s no other headset that could replace it anyway.

    • xyzs

      Yeah. There is barely an exciting VR product once a year. VR is so dead that even the world top VR news website can’t find daily subjects to treat.
      And when a new hardware is announced, it’s always the next year or even further…

      Borrrrriiinnng.

  • Arturs Gerskovics

    End of 2022 looks better for psvr2 to capture the moment and be the best for a short while.

    • Arno van Wingerde

      Well yes… but ultimately it is the software that counts. The current VR library of all devices together is still quite limited and the quality of VR games way behind flatscreen games.

  • mappo

    No video game company would ever choose to release new hardware in Q1. If this is true it’s not on purpose, it’s a screwup.