Having announced in 2021 the next evolution in a long line of social technologies would be the Metaverse and rebranding the parent company from Facebook to Meta to signal how serious their bet was, little has changed thus far for the average internet user. We’re all aware of VR headsets (few of us own one) and the revolution in collaborative working meetings, communication, and gaming has yet to arrive…
… well perhaps apart from gaming which is the one area of the Metaverse that has seen some traction with gamers perhaps the most likely to don a VR headset. For the rest of us, any exposure to the Metaverse has remained a strictly 2D world barely distinguishable from the regular Internet.
Now, Meta has announced a new VR subscription service dubbed Meta Quest+ for VR gamers, promising that while you subscribe you’ll get access to two games a month from a curated set.
The first games announced for Meta Quest+ will be Pistol Whip from Cloudhead Games and Pixel Ripped 1995 from ARVORE Immersive Experiences. In August you’ll get Walkabout Mini Golf from Mighty Coconut and sMOTHERGUNSHIP: FORGE from Terrible Posture Games.
Whether you’re a seasoned VR gamer or new to the medium, it can be hard to know where to start when exploring the Meta Quest catalog. Luckily, we’re combining curation and convenience to make things a little easier. Now you can browse less and play more with Meta Quest+, your new VR subscription service.
– Meta
Meta Quest+ is available for all owners of Quest 2 and Quest Pro headsets, and the service is forward-compatible with next Quest 3 headset.
And the cost? Well it comes in at $7.99 per month or $59.99 annually, with a sweetner to sign up immediately and get your first month for $1 if you commit before the 31st of July. There’s no long term commitment, if you cancel you lose access to your all your games but if you ever decide to resubscribe then any games you previously had access to will be restored.
Meta are quick to say that their Meta Quest+ subscription can save you 37% and has a monthly value of up to $60 USD. The problem for many will be that their household finances have taken multiple hits over the past months and is this a subscription that they need, especially when it’s not free access to any title you want, but a proscribed choice each month. And if you dare to stop paying you lose the lot.
Indeed, one might say that Meta needs your Meta Quest+ subscription more than you need them. Having bet big on the Metaverse, their Reality Labs division lost $4bn in the first quarter although as a whole the company turned a profit of $5.7bn. Having the part of your company focused on making VR headsets making massive losses isn’t great when you named your company Meta.
Gaming is pretty much as far as the Metaverse goes for Meta in the near future. With the pandemic over, plenty of Zoom/Meet/Teams tools to conference when working remotely, and Facebook’s newly redirected focus on AI, the Metaverse still looks like a geeky project for many, and an amazing gaming environment at best.
One Response
The biggest block to wider adoption isn’t the current lack of any real use case beyond gaming or the cost of the subscription. We’re all having to get used to the idea of paying monthly for everything we use and never having ownership of it.
The block is the cost of the headset (£300 for a basic one, up to £1000 for a decent one), and the inconvenience of having to wear the thing.