Editorial Update — November 2025: This article has been fully revised to reflect the state of PlayStation virtual-reality gaming in 2025, including updated PSVR2 hardware adoption, revised game recommendations, and a market-focused view of the best PSVR2 games to play in 2025.

PlayStation virtual reality has shifted from an early-adopter accessory on the original PSVR to a second-generation, premium experience with PSVR2 on PlayStation 5. By 2025, Sony is no longer chasing VR volume at any cost. Instead, it is concentrating on a smaller set of high-impact titles that justify the hardware investment and keep the PlayStation ecosystem competitive against other VR platforms.

This updated analysis focuses on the best PlayStation VR games to play in 2025, with an emphasis on PSVR2 titles that matter for serious players, investors, and industry observers. The selection is based on verifiable performance, critical reception and strategic relevance to Sony’s VR strategy, not on personal taste.

Data Snapshot — 2023 to 2025 Context

Original 2023 Context (at first publication)

• PSVR (first-generation) lifetime sales: approximately 5 million units globally.
• PSVR2 launched on February 22, 2023, as a premium PS5 accessory.
• Early VR install-base estimates suggested tens of millions of devices across all platforms.
• PlayStation Store charts in early 2023 were dominated by rhythm and action titles such as Beat Saber and SUPERHOT VR.

Updated 2025 Context

• PSVR2 is positioned as a high-end, niche device within the broader PS5 ecosystem.
• VR gaming revenue growth has slowed to modest, single-digit rates rather than explosive expansion.
• Download and engagement data point consistently to a small cluster of leading PSVR2 titles.
• Sony emphasizes profitability and prestige experiences instead of a wide, low-margin VR catalogue.

Global Regulation Snapshot — 2025

There is still no VR-specific legislation for console games in 2025. PlayStation VR and PSVR2 titles are covered by existing game-rating and digital-services frameworks.

Jurisdiction	Regulator	Status in 2025
United States	ESRB	PlayStation VR and PSVR2 games are rated under standard ESRB categories with additional warnings where needed; no VR-specific federal rules.
European Union	PEGI / EU digital regulation framework	VR titles are treated as regular games under PEGI; platform-level rules are influenced by broader digital-markets and consumer-protection legislation.
Japan	CERO	PSVR and PSVR2 titles must comply with CERO classifications; no separate VR-only regime.
South Korea	GRAC	VR content is rated as general digital games, with focus on content type rather than technology.
United Kingdom	VSC / PEGI	Console VR titles follow PEGI standards; regulators monitor issues like motion sickness, accessibility and child protection inside existing rules.

Methodology — How the Best PSVR2 Games in 2025 Were Selected

This updated ranking of the best PlayStation VR games to play in 2025 is built on four main pillars:

• Relevance in 2025: titles must still be actively played, supported or strategically important to PSVR2.
• Technical quality: strong use of PSVR2 features such as eye tracking, haptics, 3D audio and high-resolution rendering.
• Market and ecosystem impact: the game says something meaningful about Sony’s VR strategy or the state of the VR market.
• Critical and user reception: consistent, positive assessment from players and professional reviewers over time.

The result is not a list of “every good VR game on PlayStation”, but a focused view of the best PSVR2 games to play in 2025 if you want to understand where the platform really stands.

1. Gran Turismo 7 — VR Mode (PSVR2)

Platform: PS5 with PSVR2
Category: Racing simulation

Gran Turismo 7 in VR is the flagship technical showcase for PSVR2. The combination of high-resolution graphics, one-to-one head tracking, detailed cockpits and 3D audio creates an experience that is far closer to professional driving simulators than to traditional console racing games.

From a market perspective, Gran Turismo 7 in VR is the clearest demonstration that Sony views PSVR2 as a premium, enthusiast-oriented product. It rewards players who are prepared to invest in both a PS5 and PSVR2, while helping Sony justify the hardware stack with a genuinely differentiated experience.

Why it matters in 2025

• Shows the upper bound of what PSVR2 can deliver visually and technically.
• Appeals to a global, long-tail racing audience that is willing to invest in peripherals.
• Strengthens the PlayStation brand in high-fidelity, simulation-driven content.

2. Resident Evil Village — VR Edition (PSVR2)

Platform: PS5 with PSVR2
Category: Survival horror

Resident Evil Village VR is one of the most intense and polished VR experiences available on any mainstream console. Unlike earlier experiments on the original PSVR, the PSVR2 version benefits from better tracking, higher resolution, improved controllers and more precise haptics.

For Capcom, this title proves that a major AAA franchise can be extended into VR without feeling like a downgraded spin-off. For Sony, it confirms that PSVR2 can host full-scale, big-budget experiences instead of only smaller, experimental projects.

Why it matters in 2025

• Validates VR as a serious storytelling and atmosphere tool for AAA publishers.
• Deepens engagement with an existing franchise rather than relying on new IP.
• Reinforces PSVR2’s positioning as a device for committed core gamers.

3. Beat Saber (PSVR and PSVR2)

Platform: PS4/PS5 with PSVR or PSVR2
Category: Rhythm / action

Beat Saber remains one of the most important VR games in the industry in 2025. Its core design—a simple but demanding rhythm-slashing mechanic—is ideally suited to virtual reality. On PlayStation, the title has survived the transition from the original PSVR to PSVR2 and continues to perform strongly in downloads and engagement.

Unlike some cinematic VR titles that users complete once and rarely revisit, Beat Saber benefits from constant replayability and a stream of additional music packs. It is also one of the titles most likely to be shown to friends and family as a first PSVR2 demonstration.

Why it matters in 2025

• Proves that VR can produce long-lived, service-style games with steady engagement.
• Acts as a bridge between casual curiosity and deeper VR investment.
• Remains a reference point in discussions about VR game design.

4. No Man’s Sky VR (PSVR2 Edition)

Platform: PS5 with PSVR2
Category: Exploration / sandbox

No Man’s Sky has undergone one of the most dramatic transformations of any live game in the last decade. Its VR implementation on PSVR2 turns what was already a vast, procedural universe into a highly immersive experience where scale, distance and motion feel radically different from the flat-screen version.

The VR mode benefits from years of content updates and technical improvements. For players, it offers one of the broadest sets of activities available in PSVR2: exploration, base building, resource management, combat and trading, all delivered in full 360-degree immersion.

Why it matters in 2025

• Shows how long-term live-service development can support VR as an optional mode.
• Highlights the potential of VR for open-world and sandbox experiences.
• Reinforces PSVR2 as a platform for depth, not just short-session games.

5. Horizon Call of the Mountain (PSVR2 Exclusive)

Platform: PS5 with PSVR2
Category: Action adventure

Horizon Call of the Mountain was designed from the outset as a PSVR2 showcase and remains one of the most visually impressive experiences on the platform. It uses climbing, archery and environmental interaction to build a game that would not work in the same way outside VR.

From Sony’s perspective, this title operates as both a technology demo and a full game. It anchors the launch era of PSVR2 and provides a clear reference point for what a first-party, VR-first production should look and feel like on PlayStation hardware.

Why it matters in 2025

• Signals Sony’s willingness to build VR-native experiences around major IP.
• Provides a premium visual benchmark for future PSVR2 projects.
• Helps justify PSVR2 as more than a backward-compatibility device.

Strategic Takeaways for the PlayStation VR Ecosystem in 2025

Looking across these five titles, several patterns emerge about the best PlayStation VR games to play in 2025 and what they indicate for PSVR2 as a platform:

• Prestige over volume: Sony is curating a smaller but stronger catalogue of VR titles rather than chasing a large number of lower-impact releases.
• Leverage of existing IP: Gran Turismo, Resident Evil, Horizon and No Man’s Sky are all established brands; VR extends them instead of replacing them.
• VR as a premium extension, not a replacement: PSVR2 is positioned as a high-end complement to PS5, not as a separate mass-market platform.
• Technical differentiation remains essential: games that fully exploit PSVR2’s hardware features stand out clearly from older PSVR projects.
• Engagement, not just sales, defines success: titles like Beat Saber and No Man’s Sky VR show that recurring engagement can matter more than one-off campaigns.

For players, this means that the best PSVR2 games in 2025 are concentrated in a relatively small list of high-impact titles. For investors, publishers and regulators, it confirms that console VR is settling into a durable but focused niche: an area where quality, hardware integration and brand strength matter much more than raw unit counts.