The business Meta said Tuesday that it is raising pricing on its flagship Quest 2 virtual reality headsets by $100 instead of lowering them, which is possibly the most unexpected technological development in recent memory.
The price of Meta Quest 2 will be $399.99 for the 128 GB device and $499.99 for the 256 GB model starting in August, according to the manufacturer. These models are presently available for $299 and $399, respectively, in the Facebook Store. Meta Quest 2 accessories and refurbished equipment are seeing price increases as well.
In an attempt to justify the unprecedented price increase, Meta (previously Facebook) wrote on its blog that it would “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.” “Costs to create and ship our items have been rising,” said Meta. Quest 2’s pricing change will allow us to increase our funding for innovative studies and the creation of new products that will propel the VR sector forward.
By offering a free download of the well-known VR rhythm game Beat Saber, the business is attempting to lessen the impact of a $100 price increase on the Quest 2. The price of that game is present $29.99 on the Meta Quest Store.
As Meta notes, the company is developing further VR headsets, including Project Cambria gear. The device, which will go on sale later this year and allegedly starts at $799, intends to turn remote work into virtual reality. One of the four new VR headset types that Meta is rumored to be releasing is called Cambria. A new version of Meta’s budget-friendly Quest headset will be released in 2023. Quest and Cambria will both receive updates in 2024 with updated versions.
The price increase for the Quest 2 revealed by Meta comes on the same day that The Verge released a piece on the increasing demands on Facebook, Instagram, and Meta’s other businesses.
The announcement of the price increase coincides with Sony Interactive Entertainment’s announcement of new features (but not a price) for its eagerly awaited PlayStation VR2 headset.
The price rise for the Meta Quest 2 gear is unheard-of for technology like VR headsets. As component costs decline and software revenue increases with a growing user base, prices for hardware typically decline over time in an attempt to attract more buyers. The action appears to be at odds with Mark Zuckerberg’s belief that more people will adopt virtual reality by heavily relying on the metaverse. It appears like everything is on the table for Meta as it deals with declining sales, a stock price worth just half of what it did a year ago, and an ambitious return on its $2 billion investment in Oculus VR.