A week in Xbox VR with Microsoft and Meta's new $399 headset
Microsoft and Meta announced an Xbox-branded Quest VR headset last year, and it's going on sale today for $399.99. The Meta Quest 3S Xbox Edition is a custom colorway VR headset that comes bundled with an Xbox wireless controller, matching Touch Plus controllers, and three months of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate.
I've been using the Quest 3S Xbox Edition over the past week, and I was surprised to see that Meta has actually tweaked its Quest setup process to incorporate the carbon black and green styling of this headset and controllers into the UI. This Xbox Edition VR headset is even pre-paired with the Xbox controller and boots directly into the Xbox app.
The Xbox app on the Quest 3S Xbox Edition is the same one found on other Meta VR headsets, and it lets you stream games from Xbox Cloud Gaming. You'll need an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription to do this, but Microsoft has thrown in a three-month code that works for new and existing Game Pass subscribers.
I played a variety of games on this headset, both in the immersive Xbox app experience with a 26-foot virtual display and in the pass-through view that turns an Xbox game into an augmented reality object that sits in the real-world environment around you.
I liked the ability to curve or flatten the virtual display, but I found the fully immersive display showed off some of the flaws of Xbox Cloud Gaming's low bitrate and resolution. Forza Horizon 5 looked a little blocky at times, but I never experienced much noticeable lag while playing games.
The hardware itself is very much just a custom colorway, with a green band around the front of the VR headset and a little green Xbox logo on the side. The Xbox controller has that same black and green styling, which also extends to Meta's own Touch Plus controllers. It all matches surprisingly well.
Naturally, Microsoft will market this as an 'Xbox' in the same way that it calls laptops, TVs, and phones an Xbox if they're capable of streaming games from Xbox Cloud Gaming. Microsoft has never done an Xbox VR headset, and this is clearly as close as we're getting to one.
I think this type of 'Xbox' makes sense if you don't want to lug a heavy console on vacation or have to worry about attaching a screen. It's really all in a single package, but you'll need to pay that monthly $19.99 subscription fee for Game Pass Ultimate. This really would be more appealing if Microsoft finally launched its long-rumored dedicated cloud gaming subscription or even a free ad-supported version that it has hinted at in the past.
Meta and Microsoft are launching the Quest 3S Xbox Edition in the US and UK today. It will be available on Meta's online store and in Best Buy in the US, or Argos and EE in the UK. 'Quantities are extremely limited,' warns Lori Wright, corporate vice president of gaming partnerships at Microsoft. 'Once they're gone, they're gone.'
Photos by Tom Warren / The Verge
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