Do Meta Quest 2 games work on Quest 3?
Meta's follow up to the Quest 2 is more powerful, slimmer and also backward compatible with older titles
Meta’s next-generation headset, the Meta Quest 3, is now available. But is it backward compatible?
Thankfully, if you already have a large library of Meta Quest 2 games, you'll be glad to know that Meta Quest 3 is fully backward compatible with Quest 2's entire library of over 500 games and apps. This means you won't have to repurchase anything you've already bought.
That means all of the best Meta Quest 2 games such as Beat Saber, Resident Evil 4, Moss: Book 1 and 2, Bonelab, and many more will all work on the Meta Quest 3. Some titles have also been enhanced to look and run better than ever on Meta’s new headset.
That’s a massive relief to those who purchased the Meta Quest 2 headset when it was first released in October 2020. And it makes picking up the older model a tempting proposition if you’d like to save some cash. It also makes downloading the Meta Quest Plus free games worthwhile, as every game you grab will work on Meta’s next-gen headset. Also, those who picked up the Meta Quest 3 before January 31, 2024, could get six months of Meta Quest+ for free.
Ahead of the Quest 3’s release in October 2023, Meta announced that the Quest 2 price would drop to $299.99 for the 128GB model, while the Meta Quest 3 would cost $499.99. The Quest 2 headset also received an unexpected performance boost via a software update, with the CPU performance increasing by 26% and the GPU performance increasing by 19%.
That makes the Meta Quest 2 slightly more future-proof despite being released almost four years ago and makes it a great option if you’re new to VR but want a more affordable entry-level device.
Not everyone needs a slimmer and more powerful device after all, and you might not be interested in augmented reality (Quest 3 also lets you play Xbox games thanks to Xbox Cloud Gaming). But if you do build up a library of VR titles, it’s good to know you’ll be able to take them with you if you upgrade in the future.
Meta Quest 2 games working on Quest 3 is also pleasing to hear after we learned that PSVR 2 isn’t backward compatible with PSVR games. That means PlayStation VR2 users had to rebuild their games library from scratch, which isn’t ideal when the PSVR 2 price is $549 and you need a PS5, which is $499 or $399 depending on whether you pick the PS5 disc vs Digital.
Not every game designed for Quest 2 will perform better on Meta Quest 3, but the upgraded resolution displays and improved controllers will certainly enhance the overall experience. Some titles have received updates to take advantage of the improved hardware, such as Red Matter 2 and The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners.
Can’t decide between the Apple Vision Pro vs Meta Quest 3? Read our in-depth comparison.
Last updated: February 14, 2024