Mind the Gap: A Decade-Scale Empirical Study of Multi-Stakeholder Dynamics in VR Ecosystem

TL;DR

This study analyzes a decade of VR ecosystem discussions to identify gaps between user concerns and developer responses, revealing areas like inclusivity that need more attention for better platform development.

Contribution

It introduces a multi-view empirical framework combining topic modeling and impact analysis to compare user and developer perspectives over time.

Findings

Users frequently raise issues on inclusivity and safety.

Developers rarely address concerns about inclusivity.

Identified gaps can inform better VR platform governance.

Abstract

In the development and evolution of VR ecosystem, platform stakeholders continuously adapt their products in response to user and technical feedback, often reflected in subtle shifts in discussion topics or system updates. A comprehensive understanding of these changes is essential for identifying gaps between user expectations and developer actions, which can guide more effective quality assurance and user-centered innovation. While previous studies have analyzed either user reviews or developer discussions in isolation, such approaches typically fail to reveal how specific user concerns are (or are not) addressed by corresponding technical activities. To address this limitation, our study introduces a multi-view empirical framework that systematically compares and aligns stakeholder perspectives. By applying topic modeling and quantitative impact analysis to 944,320 user reviews and 389,477 developer posts, we identify not only the overlap in concerns (e.g., performance, input methods), but also clear gaps in areas like inclusivity and community safety (e.g., LGBTQ+ representation, child-friendly content). Our findings show that while users repeatedly raise such issues, they are rarely discussed in developer forums. These insights enable data-driven recommendations for closing the user-developer gap in VR ecosystems, offering practical implications for platform governance and the design of next-generation VR systems.