Facebook parent Meta has raised the price of its Quest 2 virtual reality headset by $100, as the company reckons with inflationary pressures.
Meta announced the price increase on Tuesday via a Twitter post.
Starting Aug. 1, the 128 GB version of the Quest 2 will cost $399, while the 256 GB model will cost $499, Meta said.
The company said it hiked the price of the VR headset “in order to continue investing in moving the VR industry forward for the long term.”
Meta added in a corporate blog post that “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,” Meta said.
In the first quarter, Meta’s Reality Labs division, which includes VR headsets, reported revenue of just $215 million, compared to Facebook’s $27 billion in advertising sales. Meanwhile, Reality Labs recorded an operating loss of $2.96 billion.
Meta is estimated to have shipped over 10 million Quest 2 headsets in 2021 topping other companies that sell VR headsets like Sony and HTC, according to research by analyst firm Counterpoint. The firm said that Quest 2’s relatively cheap price of $299 made it more attractive to consumers.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has said he’s pushing the company to the metaverse, a virtual world where he envisions consumers working and playing within the next decade.
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