When Every Millisecond Counts: The Impact of Delay in VR Gaming

This paper presents the finding of a subjective study investigating the impact of delay on a VR gaming experience, applying an experimental design to a virtual game of squash. 32 participants were asked to rate the stability of the VR experience while playing the game, with results showing an impact of delay even at the lowest level of 20 ms added delay. With 120 ms added delay, most participants judged the experience to be fully unstable. Exploring individual differences, we also found that males and experienced gamers were more critical, or more sensitive, to higher levels of delay, compared to females and less experienced gamers.