Sifting by way of the multitude of gaming {hardware} tales and there’s solely been a handful about PC VR written for the beginning of this 12 months.
That’s a disgrace as a result of new applied sciences will seemingly propel VR ahead in 2025 — a minimum of a bit of nearer to that seamless high-resolution expertise that every one VR avid gamers need. I’m primarily referring to Nvidia’s RTX 50-series and AMDs Radeon RX 9000-series graphics playing cards and what they imply for VR gaming efficiency.
I’ll get to that in a minute, however first a fast snapshot of PC VR efficiency in 2024.
VR and the most effective graphics playing cards of 2024
In 2024 we noticed some avid gamers undertake Nvidia’s RTX 40-series and AMD’s 7000-series graphics playing cards in PC VR gaming. Those that did largely noticed an uptick in body charges from what that they had earlier than.
YouTubers posted spectacular fps in video games like Cyberpunk 2077 and iRacing, for instance. The RTX 40 sequence added third-generation ray tracing for a lift to shadows and lighting whereas AMD’s 7000-series playing cards additionally noticed an enchancment in ray tracing.
Despite 2024’s top-tier playing cards displaying large efficiency variations over the earlier 12 months’s graphics playing cards they couldn’t fairly hit the form of body charges we noticed in flat display screen gaming. Mid-range playing cards just like the RTX 4070 reported playable experiences in triple-A PC VR video games too, some averaging across the 70- to 78fps mark, however efficiency not often averaged upwards of 100fps.
In a nutshell, VR remained a troublesome gig for even the most effective video playing cards in 2024, which isn’t actually that stunning. VR does have heftier necessities than flat display screen gaming, due to its stereo rendering and huge discipline of view, particularly at increased resolutions, like 3K.
What to anticipate in 2025
It’s early days for efficiency outcomes however there’s little question VR gaming will likely be nudged additional alongside by Nvidia and AMD’s new choices this 12 months. I don’t see them bringing VR into the mainstream, however they are going to undoubtedly make for smoother, extra seamless experiences. I for one am wanting ahead to dusting off my VR headset contemplating the additional energy on supply.
Some of the primary VR benchmark outcomes for the RTX 5090 versus the RTX 4090, as an illustration, are very engaging. One utilizing the Meta Quest 3 demonstrates a 236 p.c efficiency soar in Metro Awakening, a 151 p.c improve in Red Matter 2, and a 47 p.c improve in Skyrim VR for the RTX 5090 over the RTX 4090, for instance.
The small print right here is that at its present $2,000 price ticket and 1,000W PSU advice, the Nvidia RTX 5090 is positioned in a worth and energy class which will make many avid gamers wince. Consequently, it’s potential a number of consumers will select one of many step-down RTX 50 playing cards after they improve — me included.
You can anticipate extra modest efficiency from the Nvidia RTX 5080, RTX 5070 Ti, and RTX 5070 GPUs in PC VR, however it’s nonetheless more likely to be fairly good, and higher worth.
I particularly just like the sound of the RTX 5070 Ti; its efficiency is simply barely shy of the RTX 4090 and at $749 (as an alternative of the RTX 4090’s $1,599) at launch, it’s loads cheaper too, so eliminating the jitters in some triple-A VR titles will a minimum of be extra inexpensive than final 12 months.
Nvidia’s RTX 5070 Ti is nicely priced and highly effective. It’s a sensible choice for VR PC fans.
Adam Patrick Murray / Foundry
AMD’s prime card is equally positioned for a good efficiency acquire in PC VR video games. To use the AMD RX 9070 XT for instance, you’re taking a look at roughly 42 p.c higher efficiency than the earlier era RX 7900, which ought to go a protracted technique to making VR gameplay smoother and extra gratifying if you happen to go for one.
PC VR avid gamers will as soon as once more see extra life like rendering of lighting and shadows in VR titles, too, because of additional developments in these card’s ray tracing capabilities. The 4th-generation ray tracing cores in Nvidia’s RTX 50-series playing cards, for instance, are anticipated to spice up RT efficiency by between 15 to 30 p.c.
Quicker load instances and better resolutions
VR gamers utilizing the latest-generation RTX 50-series playing cards can anticipate faster load instances at increased resolutions than was beforehand potential. That’s because of the RTX 50 playing cards sporting GDDR7 VRAM which has 33 p.c faster bandwidth than GDDR6X VRAM in earlier era Nvidia GPUs.
It will load out and in of reminiscence at speeds as much as 32Gbps (gigabits per second), in comparison with 24Gbps for GDDR6X, which will likely be particularly helpful for 4K per-eye VR gaming which may be very graphically demanding.
AMD’s Radeon RX 9000-series graphics playing cards characteristic16GB of GDDR6X VRAM. That’s nonetheless good — we are able to anticipate it to be fast, even when it’s not fairly as quick as Nvidia’s newest playing cards.
Two different new options of the Nvidia RTX 50-series GPUs look thrilling for gamers who need to future-proof their upgraded {hardware} for PC VR. One is DisplayPort 1.2a, which is able to help 4K per-eye headsets at 120Hz or increased.
The different is 4:2:2 pro-grade colour encoding help for multi-view (MV-HEVC). When VR helps this sort of encoding, gamers will be capable of expertise video games in additional vibrant colour than the 4:2:0 compression that’s at the moment utilized in VR.
Nvidia DLSS 4 and AMD Fidelity FX Super Resolution 4 in VR
You may say these two applied sciences have already had an impression in some VR video games judging from gamer reactions in 2024. On the opposite hand, there are nonetheless solely a handful of VR video games that help these applied sciences and that’s not more likely to change a lot in 2025. Some notable titles embody video games like Skyrim VR, Microsoft Flight Simulator, No Man’s Sky, and VR Kayak Mirage.
Nvidia’s DLSS 4 know-how is simply supported in a handful of PC VR video games to date.
Nvidia
It’s value noting, although, that even the VR video games that help them received’t make the most of all of the options in these applied sciences. DLSS 4’s Multi-Frame Generation, for instance, is one characteristic that continues to be unsupported by VR PC video games. In truth, it causes elevated latency in comparison with VR body extrapolation applied sciences.
What else does 2025 have in retailer for PC VR gaming?
Gamers are going to need one of many video playing cards I simply talked about to get the most effective efficiency out of a spate of latest light-weight 3K and 4K per-eye VR headsets arriving this 12 months. They embody the 4K Pimax Dream Air and Shiftall’s MeganeX superlight 8K.
From a video games perspective, 2025 ought to convey an fascinating and various lineup of releases, from throwaway informal titles to large identify blockbusters.
Just just a few that I’m personally wanting ahead to incorporate the time journey / escape room journey Wanderer the Fragments of Fate, the puzzle recreation Infinite Inside: The Lost Depths, and a demolition derby recreation with destructible environments referred to as FlatOut VR. Here’s hoping they play in addition to they sound.
Further studying: Why I’m still using my Vive Pro for VR, six years later