Meta is raising the price of Quest 2 by $100 in August – but you get Beat Saber for free...
Meta is raising the price of Quest 2 by $100 in August – but you get Beat Saber for free...
Meta has announced it's raising the price of its Quest 2 headset so it can "continue investing in moving the VR industry forward"
➡️ The Shortcut Skinny
🥽 Meta Quest 2 headsets will cost $100 more from August 1
🆓 Every purchase will come with a free copy of Beat Saber
🤔 The price hike will help with “moving the VR industry forward”
⌛ If you want a Meta Quest 2, you’re best off buying one before August
👍 The price hike could bode well for PSVR 2
The Meta Quest 2 will cost $100 more from August 1, despite adding no new features. The 128GB model will cost $399.99, up from $299.99, and the 256GB model will be $499.99 instead of $399.99.
Meta has provided a bizarre reason for hiking its headset's price, suggesting that the company initially either underpriced its headset or can’t afford to sell it so cheaply anymore. Here’s what Meta tweeted:
“In order to continue investing in moving the VR industry forward for the long term, we are adjusting the price of Meta Quest 2 headsets to $399.99 (128GB) and $499.99 (256GB) starting on 8/1/22.”
It’s rare that a company will make a product more expensive, especially one that’s been on sale since October 13, 2020. It’s rarer still that a new and improved version isn’t released to justify the price increase.
Imagine if Sony decided to raise the price of the PS5 by $100 to continue investing in moving the gaming industry forward for the long term? Yeah, it probably wouldn’t go down well.
To soften the blow somewhat, Meta is giving away a copy of Beat Saber, one of the most popular VR games, with every purchase. The offer runs from August 1, 2022, to December 31, 2022, and you’ll have 14 days to download the game after you’ve activated your device. However, Beat Saber only costs $29.99, so you’re still $70 out of pocket.
In a blog post on the Meta Quest website, the company said that it believes that Meta Quest 2 is still competitively priced and that it will continue to deliver additional value through system updates in the future:
”Even with these pricing changes, Meta Quest 2 continues to be the most affordable VR headset with a comparable feature set on the market. And each headset keeps getting better after you buy. From hand tracking improvements and Air Link to Meta Horizon Home, we’re constantly adding new features to make VR more social, intuitive, and immersive than ever before. We’ll continue shipping exciting new software updates to improve our products on a regular basis.”
If you’ve been on the fence about picking up a Meta Quest 2, you only have a few days to get it until the price goes up by $100. It’s unlikely we’ll see a price drop of $100 during Black Friday 2023, so I’d suggest grabbing it now.
Refurbished models of the Quest 2 are also increasing in price, with Meta telling UploadVR that the price will increase to $349.99 and $429.99 for 128GB and 256Gb models, respectively.
👍 Good news for PSVR 2
One of the reasons the Meta Quest 2 (formerly known as the Oculus Quest 2) has been so popular is its attractive price point. However, with a $100 increase, Sony’s PSVR 2 could be more tempting to VR enthusiasts that own a PS5.
It’s likely the PSVR 2 will cost more than $399.99 when it launches, especially as it will be one of the most technically advanced headsets on the market. The price increase of the Meta Quest 2 will only help soften the blow if Sony’s headset ends up being $499 or more and will make comparisons between the two devices more favorable if they’re closer on price.
Sony recently gave us an early look at the PSVR 2 user experience, which includes a see-through view, the option to customize your play space, the ability to broadcast yourself, and a Cinematic Mode that lets you play PS5 games on a massive virtual screen.
We’re still waiting for Sony to announce a PSVR 2 pre-order date, but we at least have an idea of some of the PSVR games we can expect. Unfortunately, PS5 consoles are still hard to find, but our PS5 restock tracking can help you secure a PlayStation 5.