Microsoft has announced the Meta Quest 3S Xbox Edition, the first limited edition ever for the Quest virtual reality headset.
The company behind Xbox has yet to release a virtual reality headset of its own, but it seems happy to partner with Meta to expand Xbox cloud gaming on Quest.
In a post on Xbox Wire, Lori Wright, Corporate Vice President, Gaming Partnerships and Business Development, said the Meta Quest 3S Xbox Edition is “crafted for Xbox fans.” It’s out now (see it at Meta) and costs $399.99.
The Meta Quest 3S Xbox Edition Bundle contents:
- Custom 128GB Meta Quest 3S in Xbox Carbon Black and Velocity Green
- Matching Touch Plus controllers and a limited-edition Xbox Wireless Controller
- Elite Strap
- 3 months of Meta Horizon+
- 3 months of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate
You can pair any Xbox Wireless Controller, Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2, or Xbox Adaptive Controller to Quest using Bluetooth, but the included limited-edition Xbox Wireless Controller will share the same look as the other accessories.
The Xbox app on Quest lets you access Xbox Cloud Gaming, which is available as part of the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription. Game Pass Ultimate members can also stream select cloud-playable games they own, even if they are not included with Game Pass Ultimate (there are over 100 supported titles in the Stream Your Own Game collection).
The marketing for the Meta Quest 3S Xbox Edition leans on Microsoft’s ongoing “This is an Xbox” campaign, which pushes the idea that Xbox isn’t confined to consoles, but playable on most things with a screen.
The Meta Quest 3S Xbox Edition is available now at meta.com, Best Buy (USA), Argos (UK), and EE (UK), but quantities are extremely limited. “Once they’re gone, they’re gone,” Microsoft said.
Microsoft has so far resisted the temptation to release a VR headset of its own, even as competitors such as Sony went all-in. Back in 2019, ahead of the launch of the Xbox Series X and S, Phil Spencer confirmed that virtual reality wasn’t a focus for the consoles because there wasn’t enough demand for it.
“We’re responding to what our customers are asking for and… nobody’s asking for VR,” Spencer said at the time. “The vast majority of our customers know if they want a VR experience, there’s places to go get those. We see the volumes of those on PC and other places.”
Sony went on to release the PSVR2 for the PlayStation 5, which now appears to have been left behind.
Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
