Nearly 300 European companies are dedicated to VR

A recent study of the virtual reality ecosystem shows that there are nearly 300 companies using the technology across Europe.

Research by The Venture Reality Fund and LucidWeb into investments made in the region shows a thriving industry of businesses that centre around VR, VentureBeat reports. Unsurprisingly, video games represent the biggest sector.

European games firms working on VR range from larger companies such as Ubisoft, nDreams and CCP Games to indies and start-ups such as UsTwo Games, Coatsink and Tammeka Games.

The games industry also has a presence in the 3D Tools sector covered by the VR Fund's research, with Unity, Crytek, Improbable and more among the identified firms. Meanwhile Starbreeze Studios was listed as not only a creator of virtual reality content, but one of the continent's most advanced VR hardware developers.

The biggest single-round investment by any European VR company was taken by Mindmaze, the Swiss-based input technology firm that has raised $100m. France is home to the most virtual reality firms in Europe, with Germany, Sweden and the United Kingdom not far behind.

"The VR industry is booming and not just in the US or Asia. The old continent has known a slower start, but definitely got up to speed during the past two years," LucidWeb co-founder and CEO Leen Segers said in a statement.

"The VR gaming segment remains the most competitive space, but is surely challenged by a large number of companies focusing on user input or 3D tools. We feel very excited for the future as we see local and international investors are clearly investing in these segments, too."