The Meta Quest 2 (formerly Oculus Quest 2) is about to get $100 more expensive, bringing the 128GB model to $399.99 and the 256GB model to $499. 99 dollars. According to a Meta post, the nearly two-year-old price change for the headset will go into effect “starting in August.”
As much as I hate to recommend buying things under pressure, you should probably act fast if you’re hoping to get your hands on one sooner. It seems likely that scalpers and their robot armies are about to have a good time with the models that are currently on sale at the previous price. You can pick them up at places like the official Meta store, Best Buy, Amazon, GameStop, Target, or Walmart.
That’s a big price jump for what was one of the best deals in gaming for years, and it comes at a time when Meta as a whole is looking to trim the fat and start making more money, while trying to build a business centered around people who have access to virtual reality hardware. The company is, however, offering buyers something to help make the new price a little easier to swallow: Starting August 1 and continuing through the rest of the year, the Quest 2 will come with a free copy of Beat Sabre, a very popular program. Virtual reality rhythm game that normally costs $29.99.
Meta basically blames production and shipping costs for the price hike
According to UploadVR, those looking to save money on refurbished models will also have to shell out an extra $100 for the base version and $80 for the one with improved storage, paying $349 and $429, respectively.
In its post on Tuesday, Meta says “the costs to manufacture and ship our products have been increasing.” According to sources speaking to Verge reporter Alex Heath, the company makes no money from sales of Quest headphones.
However, antitrust regulators may accuse Meta of deliberately subsidizing its headphones long enough to force out competitors who couldn’t afford to match its price, then raising the price once it had become by dominating the market. As an example of Quest 2’s popularity among gamers, just look at last month’s Steam Hardware Survey: 49.02 percent of people using VR with Steam were playing a Quest 2.
The prominence of Quest 2 has been on the rise since last year. Graphic: valve
This is, by the way, a headset that doesn’t require a computer to run, so that number likely doesn’t account for all the people using the headset. Market research firm IDC estimates that the Quest 2 accounted for 78 percent of the virtual/augmented reality market in 2021, according to The Hindu.
Recent reports have indicated that Meta is working on a new slate of VR and AR headsets, with some being significantly more expensive than the current crop (even with the increased prices). The company hasn’t been shy about the fact that it’s working on new hardware, but Tuesday’s move may give users pause to buy into its ecosystem. That wouldn’t be good for Meta, which has said it’s approaching virtual worlds.
If you’re rushing to pick up one of these headphones now before the price goes up, you might want to check out our video showing off some of its more useful features.