Meta (formerly Facebook) has announced that it will be increasing the price of its Meta Quest 2 VR headsets, whilst offering Beat Saber for free for a limited time.
The company announced yesterday (July 26) that starting in August of this year, the Meta Quest 2 will increase from $399.99 / £299.99 to $499.99 / £399.99.
Beat Saber will be made available to new buyers for free when the price increases, but Meta will only give out this offer for a limited time.
“People who purchase a new Meta Quest 2 from August 1, 2022 through December 31, 2022 and activate the device before January 31, 2023 using an account that does not already have Beat Saber enabled will be able to download Beat Saber at no additional cost for 14 days following activation,” reads the announcement.
Meta says the price has been raised because it needs the money 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 our products have been on the rise. 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,” added Meta.
Meta argued that even with the price hike, the Quest 2 is still the most affordable VR headset on the market. Sony’s PlayStation VR headset costs between £260 and £300 (depending on the bundle, and it requires a console), PSVR2 currently has no price, the Valve Index costs upwards of £500 for the basic kit, and the Vive Pro 2 costs £1,299.
In other news, Square Enix reportedly sold off its western studios due to a potential acquisition from Sony.
