Meta Raises the Prices of Its Quest VR Headsets by $100

Meta, née Facebook, may be one particular of the most influential and formidable organizations in the world, but that doesn’t indicate it is immune to broader financial woes. On the identical day a series of information stories exposed the extent of Meta’s current belt-tightening, the corporation reported it was raising the price ranges of its Quest VR headsets.

It is a noteworthy update in an business that usually sees the rates of devices drop as engineering advancements. A bigger rate level on one of the world’s most popular VR headsets also results in an additional opportunity barrier in Meta’s quest to get extra people into virtual reality.

Starting up in August, the two offered configurations of Meta Quest 2 VR headsets will both equally go up in cost by $100. The 128-gigabyte product will charge $400, and the variation with 256 GB of storage will price $500. A totally free obtain of the preferred Conquer Saber match, normally $30, will ship with the headsets till the close of the yr. This nudges the Meta Quest 2 headset closer to the selling price of the $549 HP Reverb G2 and the HTC Vive Professional, which starts off at $599 for a headset only (sans hand controllers).

Meta stated, via a spokesperson, that it has invested billions of dollars in the VR ecosystem and that the firm is “adjusting the value of our Meta Quest 2 headsets to empower us to carry on investing in means that will maintain driving this significantly competitive field ahead for individuals and developers alike.”

The Meta Quest’s price tag improve indicators a rethinking of the company’s metaverse tactic as it—and other tech companies—adjust to alterations in the advert market place and brace for a achievable economic downturn. Meta founder and main executive Mark Zuckerberg has manufactured it apparent that he considers VR to be a extensive-phrase investment. Very last 12 months, Meta explained it programs to make investments $10 billion in its metaverse initiatives. Due to the fact then, the unit has bled cash. Meta used additional than $10 billion on VR in 2021 alone, and in its first-quarter 2022 results, it documented a reduction of virtually $3 billion for its metaverse division.

A researcher at IDC, Francisco Jeronimo, shared through Twitter last thirty day period that Meta has sold approximately 15 million units of the Quest 2 since it introduced in 2020, and that the business has managed to grab an overwhelmingly huge share of the VR marketplace. But its dominance may possibly not previous endlessly. Although VR shipments are forecast to mature this yr, with potentially as many as 14 million units transported in 2022 by itself, predicted headsets from ByteDance, Sony, and Apple could place strain on Meta, IDC analysts warn.

But in the meantime, a $100 rate hike on Quest 2 is not likely to meaningfully maximize margins for Meta. It may possibly just signify the organization loses marginally considerably less income on its metaverse thrust, as it carries on to pitch its eyesight of our computing upcoming.

“Most men and women be expecting Meta to acquire a decline on VR, and maybe break even at some place,” says Anshel Sag, principal analyst at Moor Insights & Approach. “The issue with this value maximize is that typically persons hope, when a products is out this lengthy, that it will get a value slash, not an maximize. That is the most jarring aspect of this. It bucks the standard buyer electronics craze.” The corporation may well still want to provide discounted versions of Meta Quest 2 all-around the holiday seasons, he adds, but the “discounted” costs could now align with the product’s primary pricing.