How Apple and Google's VR Headsets Could Disrupt the Game Engine Market
The VR market is still relatively speaking in its infancy, but there are new players poised to enter the market that could really turn things on it's head. Which way this goes has yet to be seen, but today, I am more interested in how this affects the current game engines, Unity and Unreal Engine in particular.
Market growth
As the VR market continues to grow, we can expect to see even more innovation in the VR headset space. And one of the most important developments in years could be the entrance of Apple and Google into the VR market.
Apple and Google are two of the biggest tech companies in the world, and they have a history of disrupting existing markets with their innovative products and services. It's already well written about Apple's upcoming headset, and what thier offering can possibly do when they enter the VR market this year, we know less about the Samsung/Google partnership, but either way, they will have a major impact on the industry.
Game engines
One of the biggest challenges facing VR developers today is the huge costs involved to make to make high-quality content. Apple and Google have the resources and expertise to create high-quality VR experiences that will attract users and drive demand for more VR headsets.
This will inevitably lead to a surge in the number of VR developers, which would create a need for more powerful and versatile game engines.
Enter Apple and Google
Apple and Google are likely to develop their own proprietary VR platforms, xrOS is already patented for Apple, and could be a hybrid of SwiftUI.
This could lead to fragmentation of the VR market, making it more difficult for developers to create cross-platform games unless Apple and Google support the OpenXR framework. However, it could also lead to innovation and competition, which could ultimately benefit VR users, time will tell.
The entrance of Apple and Google into the VR market is likely to have a positive impact on current game engines, as surely they will aleady be negotiating access to the platforms at launch or just beyond.
But we have already seen big layoffs at Unity, do they see a potential stranglehold coming where only proprietry codebases will initially be allowed on the tech giants respective new platforms?
Opportunities
There is the potential it will create new opportunities for developers, drive demand for VR content, and lead to innovation in the VR platform space, plus the potential to drive down development costs which is key.
So, what do you think about the potential impact of Apple and Google's VR headsets on the game engine market? Let me know in the comments below.
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Mark Nicoll