The PlayStation VR2 (PS VR2) is a virtual reality headset for the PlayStation 5 and PC. It was created by Sony Interactive Entertainment and was released on February 22, 2023.
History and development
The development of PS VR2 took about six years. It was created at the same time as the PlayStation 5, with the goal of making a perfect match between the console and the VR device, considering PC connections. A display analyst from Display Supply Chain Consultants (DSCC) predicted that the next generation VR headset would have a display with the highest pixel density on a commercial OLED panel, with pixel density "well above 800 PPI."
At the 2022 Consumer Electronics Show, Sony announced the PlayStation VR2 for the PlayStation 5. A release date of February 22, 2023, and a retail price of $549.99 were announced on November 2, 2022, on the official PlayStation Blog.
On February 22, 2024, Sony announced that PC support for PlayStation VR2 would arrive in August 2024. The PlayStation VR2 PC adapter was released on August 7, 2024, through selected retailers. It received mixed reviews due to issues such as missing features like eye tracking and HDR, incompatibility with some Bluetooth adapters and motherboards, poor Bluetooth reception, and additional costs for connecting the PSVR2 to a PC. Eurogamer reported a Bluetooth issue when pairing the PC with the PSVR2 controllers.
In June 2024, Sony was reported to reduce game development for the headset.
On December 8, 2024, Bloomberg News reported that Sony was discussing making the PSVR2 controllers compatible with the Apple Vision Pro, which might also lead to the controllers being sold separately from the headset. At Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference in June 2025, it was announced that visionOS 26 for the Apple Vision Pro would include support for PSVR2 controllers.
Sales
In May 2023, Sony shared that about 600,000 PlayStation VR2 units were sold to customers in the first six weeks after the product launched.
According to IDC, 595,500 units were shipped in the first quarter of 2023, 435,300 units in the second quarter, 343,600 units in the third quarter, and 325,200 units in the fourth quarter. This totals 1,699,600 units shipped throughout 2023. As of March 18, 2024, Bloomberg reported that Sony has stopped making PSVR2 units after producing more than 2 million units.
Hardware
The headset connects to the PlayStation 5 console using a single USB-C cable. This cable provides 12 volts of power through Power Delivery and sends USB 3 data and video through DisplayPort alt-mode, which allows for a simple plug-and-play setup. The cable is 4.5 meters long (14.7 feet). Sony said they are still studying whether a wireless connection is possible, but they chose a cable solution because they are concerned about how wireless might affect performance. Compared to the first PS VR, the new headset is lighter, and the headband has been redesigned for greater comfort. The field of view has also increased to about 110 degrees.
The headset includes a built-in microphone and a stereo 3.5 mm headphone jack. It uses the PS5’s Tempest 3D AudioTech to support 3D audio through headphones, allowing in-game sounds to change based on the user’s position and head movements. The headset also has a cooling system with a duct and a small fan to cool the onboard chip. This airflow also helps reduce fogging on the lenses while the headset is worn.
The play area for PS VR2 can be adjusted using cameras and the Sense controller. There are three "VR Play Styles" depending on the game and compatibility: sitting, standing, or room-scale (which allows more movement).
The PS VR2 has two OLED panels with a "4K" display resolution and a refresh rate of 90 Hz or 120 Hz. Each panel has a resolution of 2,000 x 2,040 pixels and supports HDR. Like the original PS VR, the PS VR2 includes a Social Screen feature that lets others view the player’s experience in 2D on a TV. It also supports Cinematic Mode, which displays non-VR games and media on a virtual cinema screen at 1920×1080 resolution, 120 Hz, and HDR.
The headset uses fresnel lenses, which reduce ghosting and maintain image brightness. It has a lens adjustment dial to fit different eye-to-eye distances. The facial interface is designed to fit various head shapes and nose sizes and can be removed for cleaning.
Unlike the first PS VR, which used an external PlayStation Camera to track movement, the PS VR2 uses four cameras on the headset to track the user’s movements and controllers. These cameras also provide a "see-through view" feature, allowing the user to see their surroundings without removing the headset. The headset has two inward-facing IR cameras for eye-tracking, which enables foveated rendering—a technique that reduces the game’s render resolution in areas the player is not looking at. Eye-tracking can also be used as an input method, such as selecting UI elements with a glance.
The PS VR2 includes a built-in motor for haptic feedback, which adds immersive effects like feeling a character’s heartbeat or sensing objects passing near the head. Some sources mention that Sony has previously patented haptic technology to reduce motion sickness.
The PS VR2 uses new Sense controllers designed to balance weight and improve comfort. The controllers have a spherical shape with 14 IR LEDs for tracking. They include features from the DualSense controller, such as haptic feedback and adaptive triggers. A new feature is finger touch detection, which uses five capacitive sensors on each controller to track the thumb, index, and middle fingers, enabling natural gestures during gameplay.
In 2024, Sony announced that the PS VR2 will support controller-free hand tracking, similar to the Meta Quest. A demo of this feature was shown at the SIGGRAPH Asia conference. Two games, Waltz of the Wizard and Masters of Light, now support controller-free hand tracking.
At the 2025 Worldwide Developers Conference, Apple confirmed that the Sense controllers are compatible with Apple’s Vision Pro mixed-reality headset.
Games and content
Sony announced that over 100 games are being made. More than 30 of these games will be available when the system first comes out. These include Resident Evil Village, The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners – Chapter 2: Retribution, Five Nights at Freddy's: Help Wanted 2, No Man's Sky, Star Wars: Tales from the Galaxy's Edge, Demeo, Moss and Moss: Book II remasters, and PS VR2 exclusives Horizon Call of the Mountain and The Dark Pictures: Switchback VR. Gran Turismo 7 and Beat Saber have also been updated to work with PS VR2.
Gran Turismo 7 will fully support PS VR2, except for the 2-player splitscreen mode. This is different from the previous game in the series, Gran Turismo Sport, which only worked with the original PS VR headset in limited ways.
PS VR2 is not compatible with games made for the previous generation of PS VR. Sony explained that differences in how the controllers track movement and how images are displayed make it difficult to update older games. When connected to a PC using the PSVR2 PC adapter, PS VR2 users can play thousands of VR games from Steam.
Reception
Pre-release reviews were mostly positive, praising the many improvements over its predecessor and its advanced technology. The lack of backward compatibility and the price of the headset received mixed reactions. Several game developers praised the headset’s capabilities, especially when used with the PlayStation 5. The new Sense controllers were praised by CNET, while Eurogamer highlighted the HDR OLED screen for its brightness and contrast, saying it now feels more like a high-end OLED TV. Some reviewers criticized the inconvenience of the wired connection. The launch library was described as "solid" by CNN, but The Telegraph expressed concerns about future first-party software plans beyond the current offerings. On Metacritic, out of 51 professional critic reviews, 14 were "Extremely positive," 33 were "Positive," 4 were "Mixed," and none were "Negative."
After launch, reviews of the peripheral became negative, with critics pointing out the lack of first-party games and other issues that slowed the product’s momentum. In July 2023, Dave Meikleham from Tom's Guide wrote he felt "big time buyer's remorse" after using the PSVR2 for several months. In March 2024, Isaiah Richard from Tech Times reported that Sony had unsold PSVR2 units piling up despite upcoming games. In the same month, IGN published an article suggesting Sony had stopped supporting the PlayStation VR2. Bloomberg also reported that Sony paused manufacturing of the PSVR2 due to low sales. In June 2024, Jay Peters from The Verge said he "regret[s] buying the PSVR 2," and a reporter from Digital Trends noted that their unit was "collecting dust." Android Central claimed Sony reduced funding for VR games, showing little interest in the PSVR2.
In January 2025, former PlayStation executive Shuhei Yoshida apologized for being "wrong" about the PS VR2, stating he believed the headset’s market reception did not meet his expectations.