HTC Vive price rockets by £70, Brexit to blame

The fallout from the UK’s Brexit vote continues as HTC announces a significant price hike for the HTC Vive virtual reality headset.

HTC has kicked up pricing for the HTC Vive by a wallet-fondling £70, bringing the cost up from £689 to £759 (plus postage and packaging). The company has blamed the fluctuating value of British Sterling in the wake of the UK’s decision to leave the EU following the June referendum.

The new pricing goes into effect from today, Monday, August 1, 2016. This means the headset, which only launched back in April, has widened the already significant pricing gap between its cheaper rivals.

“HTC continuously monitors and adjusts pricing to ensure we are providing our customers with the best value possible,” writes HTC. “Due to recent currency valuation changes and the current value of the GBP we are adjusting the price of the HTC Vive in the UK to £759 + P&P.”

“We are committed to providing the best possible VR experience with Vive and would like to thank our UK customers and partners for their continued support,” the Vive team continues.

^{A single British pound is now worth $1.32, just weeks after reaching highs of $1.49 the day before the referendum vote on June 23}

In our review, we gave the HTC Vive an impressive 9/10 score, praising its immersive free-moving VR, intuitive controllers with good battery life, a solid selection of games already available, and its unique proposition on the market. The headset’s key features include a 1,200 x 1,080 resolution AMOLED screen for each eye, HTC Vive controllers for each hand, tracking sensors, and a front-facing camera.

Related: Oculus Rift vs HTC Vive

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