VR Performance Budget
Why VR needs higher frame rates and simpler art
Also known as: VR optimization · VR frame rate · Quest optimization · VR draw calls · Single pass instanced · VR art budget
Definition
A VR performance budget is tighter than a flat-screen game because the scene is drawn twice, once for each eye, at a high, stable frame rate, such as 72 to 120 frames per second depending on the headset, which leaves around 8 to 14 milliseconds per frame. Dropped frames cause discomfort, so VR projects keep geometry and materials light, bake lighting, favor MSAA and avoid heavy post-processing. Standalone headsets, based on mobile chips, have much stricter limits than PC VR.
In production
Use single-pass or instanced stereo rendering where available, keep draw calls and overdraw low, avoid large transparent surfaces and screen-space effects, and make sure textures are compressed and sized for the viewing distance. Objects viewed from close need good detail and normal maps, but far ones can be simple. Test on the headset itself, as editor performance says little about the final result.
