Meta Quest 3 headset; Meta told GDC 2026 that Quest reached a record number of users in 2025
Image: Meta

“The rumors of the death of VR have been greatly exaggerated.” That was the message Meta brought to the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco on Wednesday, where Director of Games Chris Pruett said Quest reached its highest ever number of unique users in 2025 and that more than 100 titles earned over $1 million in gross revenue during the year.

Pruett presented the figures in a session titled The State of the VR Ecosystem: Building a Sustainable Future. The numbers are Meta’s own. The company does not publish active user counts for Quest, so the “record” claim cannot be checked against an absolute figure.

Meta’s numbers

Alongside the user milestone, Pruett offered a more measured view of revenue. He said Meta Horizon Store revenue rose only very slightly year over year, roughly in line with Circana’s estimate of about 1% growth for the wider games industry. He pointed out that 2024 included a new headset launch, the Quest 3S, while 2025 had none, and argued that holding steady in a year without new hardware is a good sign.

Premium app sales are still the largest source of revenue on the store. In-app purchase revenue grew more than 10%, and Pruett said the number of apps making $500,000 or more from in-app purchases rose 20%. The $1 million figures are gross, before Meta’s platform fee.

He named three examples of 2025 successes: UG, a free-to-play early access game popular with teenagers, and two $19.99 premium titles, the sandbox shooter Hard Bullet and the boxing game The Thrill of the Fight 2.

Meta’s Horizon+ subscription passed one million subscribers in 2025 and, according to Pruett, paid participating developers nearly $20 million. Subscription revenue overall is still a small part of the ecosystem. Oculus Publishing helped ship more than 140 games in 2025, Pruett said, with more planned for this year.

Who is playing

Much of the session was about audiences. Pruett described three groups that developers should keep in mind.

Teenagers are now the most active users on Quest. Much of their discovery happens outside the headset, on Instagram, YouTube, TikTok and through streamers, which Pruett described as essential marketing channels for top titles.

The “VR elites,” the early adopters who powered the Quest 2 era, are still around but spending less. Pruett attributed that mainly to broader economic conditions.

The third group, “mainstream adults,” is small for now. Meta says these users often buy a headset as a substitute for a television, start with media and only later move into games. They tend to prefer seated play, hand tracking and the Horizon+ catalog. Pruett suggested developers study Meta’s hand tracking design guidance with that group in mind.

He also offered a forecast, which he presented as a guess: today’s teen players may grow into core gamers who expect more polish and production value, while keeping their taste for social and multiplayer play.

Store revenue reality check

The upbeat headline sits against a tough start to 2026 for Meta’s VR business. In January, Meta cut about 10% of Reality Labs and closed three acquired VR studios, Twisted Pixel, Armature and Sanzaru Games, while Camouflaj lost staff and a Batman: Arkham Shadow sequel was reportedly cancelled.

Last month, Meta also said it is separating Horizon Worlds from Quest and shifting that platform almost entirely to phones. Pruett returned to that decision on stage. He said placing worlds on store shelves had reduced app revenue by about 3%, and that the idea it would help keep people using their headsets was not proven. Developer feedback played a large part in reversing it, he said.

Flat store revenue alongside record users also suggests that each user is spending less on average, or that growth is concentrated in younger, free-to-play audiences who spend differently from early adopters. Meta did not break out revenue per user, and it did not say how many of 2025’s record users were new owners versus returning ones.

Meta’s message to developers

The overall pitch was that Quest remains a viable place to build a business, even as Meta spends less on its own games. Pruett said Meta is working on new headsets but gave no details. He also said the Ignition program, which funded 21 startups to build VR prototypes, is closing after all 21 delivered.

For developers weighing whether to keep building for Quest, the takeaway is mixed but not bleak: more players than ever, steady but flat spending, and a clearer picture of who those players are. Meta is betting that outside studios, not its own, will reach them.

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