Image courtesy Bidnessetc.com

The German banking and financial services giant Deutsche Bank has projected the virtual reality industry to be worth up to $7 Billion within 5 years as mainstream adoption of the immersive technology ramps up post retail release in 2016.

The report, released yesterday and dissected by Bidness, explores the various VR niches and segments that currently exist, projecting out 5 years to it’s ultimate figure.

Interesting snippets include an estimate that Facebook may earn upwards of $600 Million just from virtual reality related transactions next year alone. That seems to be based on the company shifting 1.5M Oculus Rifts between release in Q1 2016 and the close of the financial year – what seems like quite an optimistic figure.

gear vr photo set (20)
Samsung’s first Gear VR Iteration

The report seems to think that mobile will be a great and powerful catalyst for virtual reality growth too, in fact Deutsche Bank state that “mobile VR attach rates” may reach 3% in the next five years – that is, companion hardware sold alongside a mobile phone (i.e. Gear VR).

It’s a staggering estimate and does seem to err on the side of optimistic, but when such a respected source starts throwing around such big numbers, you have to think there’s something in this virtual reality thing we’re all obsessed with.

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Paul James
Based in the UK, Paul has been immersed in interactive entertainment for the best part of 27 years and has followed advances in gaming with a passionate fervour. His obsession with graphical fidelity over the years has had him branded a ‘graphics whore’ (which he views as the highest compliment) more than once and he holds a particular candle for the dream of the ultimate immersive gaming experience. Having followed and been disappointed by the original VR explosion of the 90s, he then founded RiftVR.com to follow the new and exciting prospect of the rebirth of VR in products like the Oculus Rift. Paul joined forces with Ben to help build the new Road to VR in preparation for what he sees as VR’s coming of age over the next few years.
  • Don Gateley

    This is why 4k displays become _the_ enabling threshold. Only the hard core gamers are satisfied by today’s resolution. To get to the levels predicted here you are going to have to reach mom and pop and what we have today fades as the novelty does. Cinema level quality is absolutely necessary for the masses needed to make this prediction come true.