On the local scene. Khora VR seems to be most certainly profitable.
Mainly through work for hire client projects.
So I guess it depends on how you approach the business.
One shot game releases is as big a risk as any other platform. And yes, in many cases even more so.
Bƶlwerk games, VR Unicorns still hanging on.
And there is a small handful of (relative to market size) hit games out there already.
These are some of the slightly older SteamVR sales... can't remember the source right now. There was an article.

Currently the VR space is naturally very limited in install base. It's very early days still. As the technology matures with lower price points for the hardware. Better software etc. Everything in VR, WILL only become better and better.
I can only see steady (not explosive) growth in the sector for the foreseeable future. There is a lot of negative press on VR at the moment. But in 3..5..10 years and on, it will be very different ballgame.
I think we will see VR and AR merge eventually. So the new AR/VR world will be both highly useful AND have amazing immersive entertainment. And with enough time. Possibly become the dominant computing platform of our time. It will take quite a while. Decades. But never say never.

So if you are thinking about doing a startup? With the right partners and long term investors. I don't think it's the worst idea at all to do a VR startup. Might actually be a really good idea to be one of the defining companies in the early days of VR. Instead of trying to fish in bloody red oceans.
Big 'IF' you can survive the early days that is.