Facebook parent company Meta today announced that it is raising the price of its Meta Quest 2 virtual reality headsets by $100, making the 128GB version $400 and the 256GB version $500. The price change is set to go into effect on August 1.
Meta is adding no new features to the Quest 2 to justify the price increase, and the company says that it is adjusting the price in order to "continue investing in moving the VR industry forward for the long term."
We've been all-in on VR since the early days of PC and mobile, all the way through to today's premium standalone 6DOF headsets--and we've invested billions of dollars to help nurture a thriving VR ecosystem. 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 costs to make and ship Quest 2 VR headsets have increased, which is why Meta is raising its prices. The extra funds will allow Meta to invest in "groundbreaking research and new product development." One such product is a new high-end headset called Project Cambria, which will presumably compete with Apple's own rumored AR/VR headset that's set to come out in 2023.
Apple is expected to charge upwards of $2000 for its headset, so it is not a device that's going to be on par with the Quest VR, and will instead compete with much higher-end devices when it launches.
Meta says that it plans to increase the prices for Meta Quest 2 accessories and refurbished units too, but to soften the price hike, every new headset purchase will include VR game Beat Saber for free. Meta claims that even with the pricing changes, the Meta Quest 2 is "the most affordable VR headset with a comparable feature set on the market," and it will "keep getting better after you buy."
