The Meta Quest 3S Xbox Edition is the first limited edition headset of the Quest VR and was officially announced by Microsoft. Although the maker of the Xbox doesn’t have any VR hardware from its own company, it is still moving into cloud gaming with Meta.
Lori Wright, corporate vice president of gaming partnerships and business development, states that the meta quest 3s xbox edition is designed for Xbox lovers. The gadget was launched immediately for the price of $399.99 through Meta’s official channels.
What’s Inside the Xbox Edition Bundle
The all-inclusive package comes with various pieces of Xbox-branded gear to make it whole. The bundle includes a custom 128GB Meta Quest 3S headset that is finished in the Xbox’s signature Carbon Black and Velocity Green colour scheme.
The headset comes with matching Touch Plus controllers, along with a special Xbox Wireless Controller that has the same design as the headset and accessories. It also comes with an elite strap for comfort during long gaming sessions.
When you purchase the hardware, you gain access to additional benefits for three months. The Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and Meta Horizon+ are included in this bundle.
Enhanced Controller Compatibility and Cloud Gaming Access
The Quest headset is Bluetooth compatible with the Xbox Wireless Controller, Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2 or Xbox Adaptive Controller. Nonetheless, the controller edition that was given has a design that matches the headset’s look.
The Quest supports Xbox app integration for game streaming from the cloud- Xbox Cloud Gaming, which is part of the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription service. If you’re a Game Pass Ultimate member, you can now stream certain cloud-enabled games from your library that aren’t already in the Game Pass Ultimate collection. Microsoft has stated that there are more than 100 supported titles in the Stream Your Own Game collection.
‘This is an Xbox’ Campaign Expands into Virtual Reality
The Meta Quest 3S Xbox Edition marketing strategy follows Microsoft’s current ‘This is an Xbox’ campaign strategy. The messaging says: Xbox gaming goes far beyond the console hardware, to any device with a screen.
The campaign strengthens Microsoft’s view of Xbox as a service and not just a specific piece of hardware.
Limited Availability Across Multiple Retailers
You can buy the Meta Quest 3S Xbox Edition whether in the store or online. This innovative gaming device is available at meta.com and in partnering retail stores like Best Buy USA, Argos UK, EE UK, and more.
According to Microsoft, their production run is very limited, which means when they run out of stock, they will not produce anymore.
Microsoft’s Continued VR Strategy
Even with competition from Sony spending money on VR gaming, Microsoft still believes that it will not develop a proprietary VR headset. To recall, these remarks were made in 2019, just before the Series X and Series S were released.
Xbox leadership previously confirmed that development of virtual reality for the new console generation has no priority as of now. According to the company’s research, customers looking for VR experiences already had some platforms, especially in PC gaming. Therefore, the Xbox VR hardware wasn’t developed because its market volumes weren’t large enough.
Microsoft is not trying to make hardware to compete with the console or the cloud. By working with Meta, Xbox cloud gaming could get to VR audiences as well without much investment in hardware.