Jamie F
One of the biggest challenges the VR porn industry faces is the relatively low mainstream adoption rate of VR headsets in homes. However, an indicator that VR porn is in fact becoming more normalized came recently, when a new UK sperm bank announced that rather than offering donors just magazines or video content, VR porn and headsets are now an option for the donation room.
Denmark-based Cryos, the world’s largest sperm and egg donation bank, opened its first UK venue in Manchester in early 2024. Promotional images show that the company has Pico VR headsets, with the firm offering an “immersive experience”, as well as access to its premium Pornhub subscription.
There were a few headlines in the UK press about the VR headsets, but around as many reports focused on the fact that sperm donors could clock up over £400 ($500) a month if they made the donor grade and visited three times a week: the maximum rate you’re allowed to donate.
“The amount that you receive is considered compensation for your time and effort. In other words, you are not being paid for your sperm,” the company clearly states on its website.
Does this mean that VR porn isn’t quite the shock subject it once was? When VR porn first emerged in the mid-2010s, there were gleefully giggly media responses about this quirky new way to get off, goggles attached. Now, with a new generation in mind, it seems that sperm banks are realizing that it’s just another way to consume porn, and that any modern medical center with masturbation as the primary focus should probably include it.
Cyros offering VR porn might not just be born of the company’s desire to keep up with tech trends, though. In 2022 a medical study published in Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology found that when a participant had short abstinence periods between ejaculations, using VR headsets to view erotica had a strong positive effect on the amount of sperm in their ejaculate.
Researchers concluded that using VR could “improve the ejaculate quality of men who are asked to provide samples after a short period of abstinence, such as men in infertile partnerships producing samples for ART or cancer patients depositing sperm before treatment.”
Cryos International chief executive Jacob Axel Nielsen said that as well as offering you the chance to try out a nifty VR headset, being a donor at the new Manchester center potentially gives “the opportunity to donate sperm and help someone fulfill the dream of having a child”.
In other VR porn-adjacent news, Meta has announced a new software update for its Quest 2 and Quest 3 VR headsets that the company claims will make them more comfortable and easier to wear whilst lying down.
The update is called ‘v63’. While Meta gave usage examples for this benefit such as watching documentaries and attending virtual concerts, many online wags were quick to point out that it could really help out when lying down for some VR-assisted self-pleasure.
A similar update for Meta’s Quest 3 VR headset is expected to be released some time soon.
