Meta announced today something that we haven’t previously seen happen in the middle of a VR headset’s lifecycle—a price increase for Quest 2. To soften the blow, the company says it will include a free copy of the headset’s most popular game.
When Quest 2 launched back in late 2020, it did so at $300; a price point $100 less than its predecessor, and significantly less than most major headsets on the market. That’s thanks to Meta heavily subsidizing the headset in an effort to spread VR to the masses.
Well, that strategy has worked, and maybe a bit too well. Meta is believed to have been selling Quest 2 at a price significantly less than it actually costs to make and ship to customers—meaning that as the company sells more headsets it losses more money. The hope is that this loss will be recouped through the 30% fee charged to developers.
But now Meta says it has become more expensive to build and sell Quest 2, which has only increased the losses the company is incurring as it sells headsets.
In an apparent effort to make things more sustainable, Meta today announced it is increasing the price of Quest 2 by $100—that’s $400 for the 128GB model and $500 for the 256GB model—the same price as the original Quest headset.
“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 company said.
The price increase doesn’t take effect until August, so if you were planning to buy a Quest 2 in the near future this is your last chance to pick one up at the current price point.
To soften the blow a bit, for the first time ever Meta is bundling the headset with its most popular game, Beat Saber, for new Quest 2 purchases through the end of 2022. That’s a $30 value, and somewhat interesting because Beat Saber has never gone on sale or been bundled with the headset.
It’s odd to see the price of a product increase in the middle of its lifecycle, but global inflation certainly doesn’t bode well for subsidized products. To be fair, Quest 2 has been improved in manifold ways since launch, and the company even doubled the storage at the same price point—from 64GB to 128GB for the base model, and from 128GB to 256GB for the top model—for which companies usually charge a $100 premium anyway. Regardless of the price hike, Quest 2 continues to be one of the most affordable headsets on the market with a price that’s still tough for others to beat.
