Meta has surprisingly announced the price of its Quest 2 VR headset is going up, despite being on the market for more than two years.
In a tweet on Tuesday, the company said that from August 1, the price of both the 128GB and 256GB Meta Quest 2 headsets is going up by $100.
The new prices are $399.99 USD and $499.99 USD respectively and we can expect the UK prices (currently £299/£399) will follow suit. Trusted Reviews has contacted Meta for confirmation. (UPDATE: Meta has confirmed to Trusted Reviews the new UK prices will be £399 and £499 for the 128GB and 256GB versions respectively.)
The company formerly known as Oculus says the change is necessary “in order to continue investing in moving the VR industry forward for the long term.” Meta is hoping to soften the blow by bundling in a free copy of one of the best Quest games, Beat Saber, which normally costs thirty bucks.
While you can still pick up a headset for the current price for the next few days, doing so might be difficult given the price hike is imminent. At the time of writing, Amazon UK is only offering from third-party sellers, at the heightened price. However, Argos UK appears to have them in stock.
The company said in a blog post: “Now, we’re making a change that will help us continue to invest for the long term and keep driving the VR industry forward with best-in-class hardware, action-packed games, and cutting-edge research on the path to truly next-gen devices.”
The highest-end Project Cambria headset (aka Meta Quest Pro) is coming before the year is out, while the next version of the Meta Quest is also officially on the roadmap.
Meta goes on to say: “At the same time, the costs to make and ship our products have been on the rise. By adjusting the price of Quest 2, we can continue to grow our investment in groundbreaking research and new product development that pushes the VR industry to new heights.”
The news is probably a boon for rivals like Sony, which just previewed new features for the forthcoming PSVR 2, which could still arrive before the year is out.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
