- Meta revealed that the ideal VR play is 20 to 40 minutes
- Less than that, and VR feels not worth
- Longer and hardware problems can have a negative impact
Meta has released new research, it has done in the perfect length of VR games, and based on my experience in testing its Meta Quest 3, Meta Quest 3S and its older headset, the results of the study are ringing sand.
This advice may not only mean that we see changes in the kinds of apps we get in VR, but also adjust to Meta’s hardware itself. Its published finds point to design problems that many have with existing hardware, problems that are leaking of Meta’s next headset release have been resolved to its next device.
More about it below, but let’s first start with Meta’s research and why 20-40 minutes seem to be the ideal length of a VR game session.
As Meta briefly explains in a short graphic (above), the “Golidilocks session length” is approx. 20-40 minutes based on its research.
If a VR session is shorter than 20 minutes, we can be left behind and feel dissatisfied. While many mobile games can get away with a shorter 5 to 10 minutes of loop (or even less), VR requires more effort to enter (clearing space, donating the headset, etc.) so it requires a more valuable experience.
VR can still offer the shorter loops – such as Beat Saber Delivery of levels that is only a song long – but they have to be tied together in a meaningful way. For example, you can play more Beat Saber Missions as part of a workout or as a warm-up for your VR game SESH. For multiplayer games, if a match is typically 10 minutes long, a satisfying experience may be that your daily tasks are something you usually get in two games.
After 40 minutes, the experience begins to have declining returns when people begin to feel friction from physical restrictions — such as their fitness levels for a more active game, social insulation in single-player mode, limited battery life or (for newcomers) motion sickness.
Therefore, Meta says it has found that games between this length are just right (ie in the Goldilocks zone) for most VR players.
If you are not a VR app developer, this will be directly useful for your software, but for non-developers there are some things we can remove from Meta’s findings.
For starters, it provides some extra proof of the advice, I always give VR Negiers: Just start with a headset and get accessories later.
Now, if they get free in a bundle, it’s one thing, but if you want to use a significant sum on a headstrem with a built -in battery on day one, you’ll probably think again.
Yes, there are lots of people pushing through the 40-minute barrier and loving it, and so it’s helpful to have a bigger battery i always think back on my time playing Batman: Arkham Shadow As long as my battery would allow and be so frustrated to wait for it to recharge – there are many people for whom only 20 to 40 minutes is perfect.
As I always say, try your headset for a few weeks and see if you need a bigger battery or would benefit from any other accessories before buying them. With fast delivery you won’t wait long before you get them anyway, if you decide they’re for you.
This research could also point to Meta’s next VR Headset design as it works to remove some of VR’s hardware barriers.
There are several rumors that its next headset, the codename Puffin, and now Phoenix in leaks, will be ultra-slim goggles. Its rival, Pico, is said to design something similar (you can see the Pico 4 Ultra above).
Most of the treatment effect and battery would be moved to a puck, just like Apple’s Vision Pro, but with even more stuffed in the package in the pocket, so the weight of a person’s head is just over 100 g.
Given a Meta Quest 3 weighs 515g, this would be a serious change and could transform Horizon OS -headset into something people can (and want) to have on hours for hours instead of less than an hour.
What’s more, with the battery in a person’s pocket, Meta could make it even greater than before without affecting comfort. Although we, as with all speculation, have to wait and see what Meta is announcing next, maybe it’s not like a headset and a smartwatch instead.
