How to make money in VR

Virtual reality could be a $30 billion business by 2020, according to tech advisor Digi-Capital. But in 2016, it’s a nascent platform. Many developers are wondering how to make money if they dive into VR now.

We had an expert panel discuss this subject at our GamesBeat 2016 conference in Los Angeles. The moderator was Wanda Meloni, CEO of M2 Research and executive director of the Open Gaming Alliance. She talked about what works and what doesn’t when it comes to monetizing VR.

Her panelists included Mihir Shah, CEO of VR advertising platform Immersv; Guy Bendov, chief executive of mobile VR publisher Sidekick VR; and Julie Uhrman, head of platform business development at cinematic VR company Jaunt and formerly boss of the OUYA microconsole.

Shah said VR will be “an absolutely ginormous space” for ads. He said revenue from ads within VR apps now are anywhere from $0.03 to $0.10 per view. A year from now, he believes developers will make up to $50,000 per day. Uhrman said VR video sponsorship deals can range from $50,000 to above $1 million. She urged developers to consider the Chinese market. And Bendov said that hardware makers and sponsors are a good place to start looking for revenue.

Check out the video below.