Sony, the runner-up in VR, announced a new headset and VR controller last week

Sony teased its new VR gaming initiative at CES last week, dubbed PlayStation VR2. The VR2 will function alongside the new VR2 Sense controller, creating an experience Sony likely hopes will rival that of Meta’s Oculus Quest line of headsets.

Sony might be a runner-up in the VR headset race right now, but it’s a giant in gaming, which is widely expected to be a primary use case for VR. Sony’s big bet is that its growing library and list of exclusive titles will draw customers away from Meta.

VR2 functions exclusively through the PS5, which means any potential customers will have to invest in not only VR2, but the PS5, which retails officially for anywhere between $400 and $500. The original VR headset for the PS4 was $499 at release, while the Oculus Quest 2 retails at $299.

• And that’s if they manage to buy a system in the first place. The PlayStation 5 has been in limited stock since its release in fall 2020 due to a chip shortage, fueled in-part by the Covid pandemic, and has no timetable for widespread availability.

The new headset sports 4k resolution and an OLED display, as well as eye-tracking that Sony claims can register minute eye movements and head turning. It also features headset feedback, so players will feel vibrations at points in the game, like when vehicles pass by.

• The controller is outfitted with haptic feedback that responds to tension from things like pulling a trigger or drawing a bow and arrow.

So far, Sony has only showcased a teaser for Horizon Call of the Mountain, the VR accompaniment to its upcoming Horizon Forbidden West exclusive title (no relation to Meta's Horizon–branded VR apps). But the company has an expansive list of gaming IP to eventually draw from if it desires, like Uncharted, God of War, and Spider-Man.

Zoom out: The last metric Sony shared on PSVR was that it sold over 5 million units total back in 2020. Meanwhile Oculus’s Quest 2 headset has shipped over 10 million units, per CEO Cristiano Amon of Qualcomm, which makes the Snapdragon chips Oculus Quest 2 uses.