Meta Quest 2 VR headset price jumps $100 to $399, gets zero new features

The cost of consumer tech has gone up over the past two years due to a strained supply chain and other factors. We didn't think this would happen.

The price of the Meta Quest 2 virtual reality system will jump from $299 to $399 in August. The pricier version of the headset will increase in price from $399 to $499.

A $30 game for $100, then

Meta has a hard time explaining why the hardware is jumping $100 across the board (33 percent for the base model, 25 percent for the higher capacity version). It might sound logical that the costs to make and ship our products have been on the rise.

In a traditional hardware release cycle, the two-year point is when customers might expect the system in question to drop in price or receive some form of streamlined revision. Significant revisions were included to get the price lowered. The biggest change was to the system's built-in screens, but the biggest change was to the head strap.

The head strap is the easiest option since Meta already sells an "Elite" Quest 2 head strap, but there are other issues that the price change could have addressed. For anyone who buys the virtual reality system between August 1 and December 31st, the company will give them a free Beat Saber rhythm-arcade game. This pack-in game offer stands in stark contrast to Nintendo's debacle surrounding the 3DS console in 2011; after a drastic price drop, Nintendo offered early buyers a whopping 20-game collection of retro downloads as an apology.

Advertisement Unlike other hot electronics that have buckled under the pressure of issues like chip shortages and rampant sellouts, Quest 2 headsets are currently available at the existing MSRP of $299 at big-box retailers like Best Buy and Amazon. They can be immediately purchased and shipped as soon as today, in fact—no queues or retailer-exclusive subscription services required.

According to today's news, Meta's strategy of selling the headsets for less than they cost to make may not be working out. The "Oculus for Business" program, which still hasn't had its branding updated to Meta, has a better idea of how much the hardware will cost. A version of the Quest 2 with no ties to Facebook is for $799.

Meta is raking in both first-party software sales and third-party licensing fees according to a post that advertised August's hardware price hike. Meta is making some of its costs back on systems that have already been sold, and we continue to see Meta tease upcoming software based on popular licenses.