Sony has reportedly paused production of PSVR 2, as it looks to clear its backlog of inventory first before resuming.

According to a Bloomberg report, PSVR 2 sales have “slowed progressively” since its February 2023 launch. Citing people familiar with the company’s plans, Sony has produced “well over 2 million units” since launch, noting that stocks of the $550 headset are building up.

The report alleges the surplus is “throughout Sony’s supply chain,” indicating the issue isn’t confined to a single location, but is spread across different stages of Sony’s production and distribution network.

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This follows news that Sony Interactive Entertainment laid off eight percent of the company, which affected a number of its first-party game studios also involved in VR game production. Sony entirely shuttered its London Studio, which created VR action-adventure game Blood & Truth (2019), and reduced headcount at Firesprite, the studio behind PSVR 2 exclusive Horizon Call of the Mountain.

Meanwhile, Sony is making PSVR 2 officially compatible with PC VR games, as the company hopes to release some sort of PC support for the headset later this year. How and when Sony will do that is still unknown, although the move underlines just how little confidence the company has in its future lineup of exclusive content just one year after launch of PSVR 2.

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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.
  • Leisure Suit Barry

    Hang on a second, we just have to wait for the proper PSVR2 launch as it was only a soft launch last year . . . according to the PSVR sub-reddit.

    I bet they’re in complete meltdown over there, never known such delusion.

    • ViRGiN

      Never really been to that sub, but I constantly seen fanboyish comments in youtube videos, these people do dream a lot.

      It’s quite amazing how bunch of nobodies who never cared about VR became experts after getting PSVR2 and dedicating their online lives to it.

    • Never known such delusion …?? lol
      What about the “Star Citizen”, DecaGear & Lynx-R1 mutants …?

  • gothicvillas

    They have NO games. Sony wants me to play Pavlov on psvr2 but it is better on Quest3 since no cable and it looks pretty good. Basically Sony wants us to abandon wireless hmd and play same games on the wired headset.
    Even if we are ok with the cable (which i am for the most part), controller drift in Pavlov is game breaking. I just cant use any scopes or accurate aiming. Controller drift is very pronounced in Pavlov and somehow a bit less in other games. Overall, im disappointed in PSVR2. Im middle age and have disposable income but sony make it super hard for me to spend money in their store. 90% garbage or Quest clones. This time round Sony should hang their heads in shame. Big fan of Playstation and Psvr1. Sony should sack Jim Ryan. Wrong person in a wrong role. Put gamer in charge for once!!!

    • Hussain X

      However disappointing PSVR2 is, Xbox is an even bigger dissapointment which just hasn’t bothered with VR to even play Quest non enhanced clones. Though Valve has funded some VR, it’s still significantly less than Sony and could’ve done a lot more for VR. Sony has at least funded VR from PSVR1 to PSVR2, even though the latter is falling short of people’s expectations especially of those that have access to other VR platforms. For someone who only has access to a PS5 and wants to do VR with some fidelity, maybe it isn’t as bad as someone who only has an Xbox and dreams about VR. Sony has at least given an option to do VR along with some exclusives for those PS5 only owners. Sony should’ve come out with a PSVR2 Lite too as it becomes even more expensive given the lack of exclusive titles and features.

      • Michael Oglesby

        Your argument is to attack Xbox? PS fan, check! Invalidated your whole argument in the opening sentence.

        • Dragon Marble

          Come on. Any VR fan would hold PS in higher regard than Xbox.

        • Hussain X

          I have actually never played PSVR1 nor PSVR2. Nor do I own PS4/PS5. Though I’m hoping to go through PSVR1 and PSVR2 exclusives someday, excitedly, which I cannot sadly say for the Xbox. Only VR gaming I’ve done to date is on Quest and PCVR.

    • STL

      Agree with every word you wrote. Sold mine and invested a total of 6k in PC VR. However, fiddling with the various settings to play VR in high resolution and low latency is no fun.
      Sony let so much money laying on the table. They should fire their product management.

  • Gonzax

    It’s hard to spend money on a device with no games, other than those you can already play in other headsets.
    I’d happily buy one and a PS5 if there were good exclusive games for it but as it is I’ll keep playing on PCVR or Quest 3 which has better quality (PC) and you can play wireless (both PC and Q3).
    If I could use PCVR to play those few exclusives they have like the REVR games I totally would but for me to buy their headset they have to give some incentives.

  • Ondrej

    This is the wrong century for an expensive gaming peripheral that works on a single closed platform.

    Tell all the vrchat kids this thing can’t even run it and expect to sell it.
    That’s like launching a special new smartphone targeting teenagers that can’t run TikTok.

    • Gabe Zuckerwell

      Quest would as thriving as it does to this day even if there was no way to connect to pc.

      • Absotively it would!
        Quest 3 still has afterbirth all over it,
        but already a new one’s being whispered about.
        This wouldn’t be the case if the Quest line
        of AIOHMDs wasn’t such a huge smash hit.
        Which it is.
        []^ )

    • Anonymous

      Understand what yoy meant, but bad analogy as TikTok likely will be banned internationally for being a PRC spyware and propaganda machine.

  • eadVrim

    I think the developers don’t allow Sony to convert their flat games to 3D stereo to play through the VR headset on a huge screen.

  • kool

    I saw this coming when they didn’t have one game announcement last year. Unless they plan a soft reboot with the PS5 pro with the games we’re asking for the ball is in metas court.. That won’t happen so I’ll grab a quest sooner or later for my laptop.

    • STL

      Let‘s face it: Sony will most likely burry the PSVR exercise and walk away. Big mistake. Meta takes it all.

  • Mario Baldi

    I wouldn’t mind getting the psvr2 working on a pc, but I would prefer having Gran Turismo on Steam more :)

  • Dragon Marble

    PSVR2 has no games? How did such false narrative take hold — if only people care to count? I am not just talking about Quest ports; I am talking about big AAA exclusives. RE8, GT7, RE4, Horizon, Synapseh, No Man’s Sky, Firewall, Crossfire … compare that list against Assassin’s Creed and Asgard’s Wrath 2 for Quest.

    I think this is the reason for the skewed perception: PSVR2 is a second-gen headset in name only. Because it is not compatible with the first-gen content, Sony is starting from zero. If you think of it as a first-gen platform, and compare against any precedent in history, it would be hard to argue that content-wise this is a bad first year.

    However, psychologically, people are unable to think that way. It’s called PSVR2, and it does feel a little empty as a second-gen platform. So I believe the real reasons for PSVR2 not meeting performance expectation so far is 1) lack of backward compatibility 2) pricing. A second phycological barriers is buying a peripheral more expensive than the console itself.

    • “So far” …?? lol
      You expecting improvement??

      • Dragon Marble

        I can still hope.

    • Michael Oglesby

      I bought all in on PSVR1, but didn’t get #2 for reasons you stated. I also bought two Vitas and held onto hope way past it’s death. Little deja vu.

      Never trust PS to hold up their end. After 15 yrs blindly supporting them I cut ties. The fanboys will see it soon enough …

    • Zack71

      The Walking Dead Saints & Sinners 1&2, Red Matter 1&2, Onward, Contractors, Pavlov, Beat Saber, Thrill of the Fight, Arizona Sunshine 1&2, Dungeons of Eternity, Warplanes: Batter over Pacific, Pistol Whipp, Less Mills XR Bodycombat…and so on, on Quest 2&3…many of these games are meaningless with wire and without AR…

      • vancleefmustache

        I would also mention that all these games look terrible on the Quest. Saying that you have all these games also on the Quest is like saying Doom is on the Super Nintendo. Such scaled down graphics that I would barely call these serviceable Even simple games like Job Simulator and Kill It With Fire look so much better on PCVR and PSVR.

        I have a Quest 3 and PSVR2 and I just can’t do stand alone. Just too many sacrifices. I would say if you have only have used a Quest to stick with it, otherwise you won’t want to go back.

        Also, what is up with Quest 3’s inability to have detailed surfaces in all of their games? Like Assassin’s Creed’s columns all are just flat wallpaper pressed onto a rectangle. Just terrible garbage and ugly worlds. I imagine all you Quest boys will be giddy in ten years when they get a vanilla version of Skyrim running on whatever version of Quest is out then.

        • Zack71

          LOOK TERRIBLE?
          It could be, they look terrible, but they offer the best experience with some games.
          When I play Thrill of the Fight, I don’look at textures…I move all around the room, I swear! I FEEL the game!
          When I play Beat Saber or Synth Raider I look at the colors, not at texture, and I FEEL the music while I move with it!
          It’true, many standalone game have terrible textures, but feel wonderful!

        • Leisure Suit Barry

          In VR graphics aren’t as important as clarity.

          Once the clarity issue is sorted then worry about graphics. No point in having good graphics like PSVR2 on a relatively low res pentile display, grainy image and everything outside the tiny sweet spot is blurry.

  • Woe to any VR outfit not named Meta or Apple …. lol
    []^ )

  • Nevets

    Sony has failed shockingly on this. It’s unreasonable to think that they could have propelled VR into mainstream gaming; but it’s completely reasonable to feel bewildered by all their missteps.

  • Nothing to see here

    Things wrong with the PSVR2:
    It’s not very comfortable to wear for long periods of time.
    The optics are among the worst I have ever tried. Eye fatigue is guaranteed and text is too blurry to read unless you have the headset perfectly centered. This is due to a tiny sweet spot.
    It is wired so you will run into issues with it getting tangled or caught as you turn in your seat. Don’t wear one while standing or you may trip on the cable and injure yourself.
    There have been no significant new features since release and few games have been added either.
    You can’t even watch VR 3D 360 or 180 degree videos on YouTube.

    The stock Quest 3 is fully stand alone, can be used with a computer wirelessly or wired, gets frequent updates with new features, has far more games than a PSVR 2, has $50 lenses available for those with prescriptions, has $50 comfortable third party head straps with padding and a battery and has a much larger sweet spot for comfortable in focus viewing.

    • vancleefmustache

      Yeah, but the games don’t look like poop, which unfortunately, the same can’t be said about the Quest.

      • Nothing to see here

        PC games look pretty nice though.

    • STL

      Funny. Exactly the opposite from my PoV.

    • david vincent

      “It’s not very comfortable to wear”
      On the contrary, Sony’s headsets have been praised for their comfort (thanks to their halo straps). Oc YMMV, depending of your facial features.
      “It is wired so you will run into issues”
      VR veterans are used to manage wired headsets. Also nothing beat the clarity and low latency brought by display port.

  • DeeJae GodsOwn

    This is the reason I haven’t pulled the trigger on buying PSVR2. It’s a nice headset conceptually, but I have a Quest 2 and decent gaming PC. I haven’t seen anything on PSVR2 (PSN) or upcoming for PSVR2 that makes me want to go out and spend that much on their headset. Where’s the Half Life Alyx for this unit? Where are the AAA Sony studio games that should be coming out for the unit that can really showcase what PS5 and PSVR2 can do? A few RE VR games doesn’t make it worth buying. I hope they go in a different direction with it because the console and the headset are capable of so much more….

  • This is really BAD news

  • nicki gentry

    Didn’t Sony give up laptops too?

  • STL

    I will definitely buy again a PSVR2 as soon as Sony releases a good PC VR adapter (even if it is a full PS5!), as soon as this solution becomes available. Graphics and comfort of the PSVR2 are superior to the Quest 3. (I had a PSVR2 and now have a Quest 3.)

  • Rob

    This doesnt come as a surprise to me. From the start I never believed in this headset. Wrong product at the wrong time with a wrong price. A limited game library also doesnt help. Making the psvr2 capable for a PC also wont be the holy grail. It might help a little. But The future of VR is standalone. And this headset doesnt support that. Like it also doesnt truly support mixed reality.

  • Blinkin73

    I hope the folks from London Studio get scooped up by Meta. The Blood and Truth guys would be a great asset to have in the VR game space for sure. I also hope Meta takes advantage of Sony being down right now and offers them a deal to get Blood and Truth. That would be cool. It probably won’t happen, but we can dream.

  • Ardra Diva

    being tethered is its fatal flaw. they should have created a wireless adapter. my Quest 3 does great with steam link and such.

  • JB1968

    Bloomberg article by Takashi Mochizuki LOL! That’s the clown who estimated 200k sold headsets and Sony corrected his nonsenses to 600k? That’s the clown who is frequently spitting on VR in general?

    I can’ t believe anyone trust this person. And I can’t believe RoadToVR is parroting such “trusted” source.

    I thought this website can’t go much lower with the clickbaity and tabloid narrative trend. But you know RTVR “edittors” have to pay bills as well in these rough times, right?

  • NL_VR

    The PSVR2 is a ok headset but on a completly worthless platform called Playstation Network.

    a “walled garden” like Sonys ecosystem is nothing small devs (which most VR devs are) even wanna touch if they dont feel they have to. its a big chance smaller studio also starts drop the support.
    PC support may “save” the headset, but imo VR-games is not for a ecosystem like Playstation Network.