Owlchemy CEO: VR is still emerging because it hasn't passed the 'cafe test'

Owlchemy Labs CEO Andrew Eiche said at Gamescom 2026 that VR remains an emerging market because headsets are still too unwieldy to pass the 'cafe test' of being worn in public. He argued layoffs across the VR industry stem from companies ignoring data showing the popularity of social, embodiment-heavy games like Gorilla Tag.

• Eiche: today's headsets are the 'NES of VR,' not the final form
• Xreal Aura cited as first device starting to pass the 'cafe test'
• VR layoffs blamed on ignoring demand for social games
• Owlchemy says Dimensional Double Shift metrics hit all-time highs