Off by a factor of 10, looks like it was 500k but still, I think that is a function of VR headset ownership which is only at like 2% of the market or something. Adjusted for the market it was likely pretty big. I grant that within the wider videogame market it is not nearly as relevant though.

Although I’d argue the real goal of Alyx was to entice more people to take the VR plunge. That’s bad luck with the pandemic, as I’m sure the $1k price tag (more if you need a better computer too) is hard to do for many in this climate.

You don't need the Valve Index to play Half-Life Alyx. Windows Mixed Reality VR headsets can be had for under $300.

You still need a gaming PC though, lots of relatively casual gamers (like myself) still only have consoles.

You need to be able to clear out enough space to wander around a room blindfolded, too. That's really at a premium right now if you're not living alone; kids, roomies, parents, and spouses are all fighting for space in homes that were perfectly adequate when everyone went out to work or school most of the day.

>You need to be able to clear out enough space to wander around a room blindfolded, too.

You really don't. I have a 3ft by 3ft playspace (at most), and I played through Alyx (as well as tons of other VR games) just fine. Sure, having more space would've made it a little bit better, but the overall experience is just as great.

The Oculus Rift has been out of stock since March when the pandemic started. It's really hard to find VR headsets right now.

It's funny it took them this long to add something like that.

Most companies when they introduce a platform do try to push it with some of their own high profile content. Valve not so much until recently.

The whole reason Steam exists is because Valve pushed it with high-profile content, over a decade ago - initially Half-Life multiplayer (To a ton of community backlash), followed by Half-Life 2, as Steam exclusives.

It's only been the past several years that Valve has completely stopped making games, and started working on other things.

I would guess it took quite a shift for the Valve of today to make Alyx. I barely even think of them as a game dev anymore.

There was the Orange Box, which was an absolutely fantastic deal: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Orange_Box

Pretty good guess. 1.91% of people who have Steam accounts have a VR headset. Up .62% with the release of the new HL game.

https://store.steampowered.com/hwsurvey

I have multiple VR devices and for some reason, even with SteamVR active and my Index plugged in the last hardware survey didn't register my VR device, so its possible that the number is actually much higher than reported.

And.. even finding a VR headset at MSRP has been a real challenge. The wallet was willing, but the inventory was weak.

They are selling out continuously, I have a rift s but still choose to get the notifications when various headsets are in stock and it takes less than 30 minutes for them to sell out again. Supply chain issues from COVID are very real but the demand is pretty apparent regardless

SteamSpy figures put it at 1,000,000+ but I don't think they're that reliable.

I just had a look and sales must be around 2 million so far. Confidence interval 1-3 million.

It's easy to estimate roughly from the steam data that is publicly available.

Girlfriend Reviews said of Alyx "now we are all backseat gamers", regarding the imbalance of people watching the game be played on Twitch vs actually playing it themselves:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=m67wYSTgvus

I think the gaming world is a lot more fractured than it used to be. Titles that are still big names, I don't think command the % of gamer eyeballs as they used to, or at least not as much.

Much like music, movies, pretty much all media.

I think it might have to do with the fact that it is a VR game requiring a VR rig, which isn’t that common yet.

Not that you are wrong, but i feel like it would be more interesting to see those numbers in the context of the entire install base. Like, number of sales compared to the number of those devices in people’s hands.

As a percentage of users on its platform it’s huge.

That's the norm on a niche, expensive, enthusiast-dominated gaming platform though, right? Release anything even half-decent (not saying Alyx isn't better than that, mind) and almost everyone buys it, because they must really want to play games on it if they've got the platform, and there's relatively little high-quality content tailored for it (so far).