The highly-anticipated Meta Quest 3 is all set to make its worldwide debut on October 10, 2023. In addition to this release date, the pricing details for various regions have also been unveiled, and early previews from media outlets shed light on what we can expect from this successor to the Meta Quest 2.
Let’s take a closer look at the pricing for the Meta Quest 3:
- United States: $499 for the 128GB version | $649 for the 512GB version
- United Kingdom: £479 for the 128GB version | £619 for the 512GB version
- European Union: €549 for the 128GB version | €699 for the 512GB version
- Australia: AU $799.99 for the 128GB version | AU $1,049.99 for the 512GB version
For those eager to get their hands on this VR device, preorders are already available through the Meta website, and all preorders will come with a complimentary copy of Asgard’s Wrath 2.
In a significant announcement, Meta has disclosed that Xbox Cloud Gaming will be accessible on Meta Quest devices starting in December. This means that gamers will have the ability to play streamed titles such as Halo Infinite, Minecraft Legends, and Forza Horizon 5. What’s more, around 100 new and upgraded titles, including the likes of Stranger Things VR, will be arriving on Quest 3 by year’s end, with some making use of innovative mixed reality features to enhance gameplay.
Early impressions from previews offer intriguing insights. One reviewer at The Verge, Adi Robertson, observed that the Meta Quest 3 is slightly more compact than its predecessor and boasts a noticeably sharper display, making text more legible. Robertson was also impressed by the Quest 3’s sleeker controllers and various quality-of-life enhancements, though the mixed reality features didn’t particularly stand out.
Sam Rutherford from Engadget noted that while the Meta Quest 3 doesn’t stray far from the Meta Quest 2 formula, it does introduce numerous improvements, including an upgraded headband, crisper pass-through visuals for mixed reality, and a specialized dial for adjusting inter-pupillary distance, enhancing focus.
According to June Wan of ZDNET, the headset’s mixed reality experience is nothing short of groundbreaking, with across-the-board improvements. Unlike the Quest 2, which rendered surroundings in pixelated grayscale, the Quest 3’s passthrough feature offers a much more lifelike view, inviting users to explore games and applications that seamlessly blend digital overlays with their real-world surroundings.
The Meta Quest 3 has generated considerable anticipation, and these early previews provide a promising glimpse of what’s to come. As the release date draws near on October 10, 2023, we can expect more information about the device and its lineup of games to emerge in the coming weeks.
