New PS5-powered PSVR headset is coming, but not at launch

Sources familiar with Sony's next-gen plans say a new PlayStation VR is indeed on the way, but Sony asserts the HMD won't arrive in 2020.

@DeekeTweak

Published Feb 17, 2020 4:15 PM CST
Updated Nov 3, 2020 12:44 PM CST

13 minutes & 4 seconds read time

Sony is currently working on a next-generation PlayStation VR headset to complement its new PlayStation 5 console, sources tell Bloomberg.

New PS5-powered PSVR headset is coming, but not at launch | TweakTown.com

The news of an upgraded PS5-powered PSVR headset isn't a surprise. The headset has sold over 5 million units to date, making it one of the leading VR HMDs in sales, driven by its comparatively lower cost and hardware accessibility.

Sony has also filed numerous experimental VR headset patents over the years, many of which show inside-out tracking, wireless connectivity, and advancements to curb motion sickness.

Now sources in the PlayStation 5 hardware supply chain confirm the news of a next-gen VR HMD and say it'll launch in an undetermined period after the next-gen system's release.

It's unlikely the new PSVR will launch in 2020. Sony has said it won't launch the PS5 with the new and improved PlayStation VR:

"There's no reason for us to coincide it with a new console. From the point of view of the consumer, to be bombarded with many many things is a message that we don't want to send. In some ways it's good to have a little breathing space between those things," Sony R&D exec Dominic Mallinson told CNET in May 2019.

The next-gen PlayStation 5 is also backward compatible with the current PlayStation VR headset, so there's not any rush to jump right in with a new device.

Considering Sony has yet to pinpoint a total consumer price for the PlayStation 5, opting to push a new VR peripheral (a niche device at best) outside of the critical launch window makes sense. Especially when the PlayStation 5's manufacturing bill starts at about $450 per machine.

The console will release in Holiday 2020, and it may cost $499.

Check below for more info on everything we know about the PlayStation 5 so far: