Facebook parent company Meta has reportedly raised the price of its Quest 2 virtual reality headset, which makes the ticket into the metaverse slightly more expensive. Meta attributed the price increase to rising production costs. Since August this year, the Meta Quest 2 headset is priced at $400 for the 128GB version and $500 for the 256GB version, both up about $100. Meta is also reported to have raised the price of accessories and refurbished devices.
Meta’s augmented and virtual reality division, Reality Labs, has become a top priority in the company’s business shift to the metaverse. The division reported an operating loss of $10.2 billion in 2021. CEO Mark Zuckerberg said investments in virtual reality and augmented reality will result in “significant” losses early on.
These losses become more apparent when considering the impact of the broader economic slowdown. Meta has been forced to cut costs, including staff hiring, in response to record U.S. inflation and supply chain constraints under the epidemic. These challenges impacted Meta’s largest source of revenue – online advertising spending.
