Beat Saber’s Impact on VR Growth Surpassed That of Half-Life: Alyx

John Carmack, who once held the CTO position at Oculus and is revered in programming circles, is never one to hold back on his thoughts about XR technology. In his view, Meta’s popular rhythm sensation, Beat Saber, is a much bigger catalyst for the medium’s growth than the critically acclaimed Half-Life: Alyx.

Valve’s Half-Life: Alyx, a PC VR game launched in 2020, is often hailed as the crowning achievement in AAA VR gaming. Yet, Carmack believes that Beat Saber was significantly more influential, largely thanks to its 2019 release on the original Quest headset.

Carmack articulated his stance in a recent post on X, where he noted, “Anytime I criticize how Meta handles VR, some folks immediately jump in with, ‘Exactly! We need more AAA PC VR titles to succeed!’ To clarify — standalone VR is the biggest triumph VR has achieved by far, and Beat Saber was way more pivotal compared to Half-Life Alyx.”

Carmack argues that developing AAA titles solely for PC VR isn’t a viable strategy for game developers aiming for profit:

“Running VR on a PC is like catering to a specialized segment—it’s a niche within a niche. It has value and merits support as an extra feature, but it was never poised to match the popularity or success of console or mobile gaming,” he explains.

It’s hard to dispute Carmack’s observation. Beat Saber has sold 10 million copies on Quest alone. These numbers don’t even include the myriad of paid DLC music packs Meta has rolled out through the years, featuring tracks from artists like Metallica, Britney Spears, and Dr. Dre, to name a few.

Valve has kept its exact sales figures under wraps, but estimates from SteamDB suggest that Half-Life: Alyx might have between 2.2 million and 4.4 million owners at this moment.

Still, this doesn’t negate the potential for AAA developers to add what Carmack describes as “VR bonus features.” This might involve offering VR as an optional feature within games primarily designed for traditional screens:

“The economics behind AAA game development were never meant to be harnessed purely for a PC peripheral. However, I do think there’s room for AAA content to include “VR bonus features” profitably, though not as projects built entirely for VR with the same level of investment.”