Meta Unveils Quest 3S Xbox Edition for $400, Bundled with Controller & 3 Months of Cloud Gaming

Alright, buckle up. This might get bumpy, but here it goes:

Okay, so Meta and Microsoft just threw a curveball with the Quest 3S Xbox Edition. I know, fancy name, right? But don’t let it fool you. It’s not like Xbox has suddenly decided to compete with PlayStation VR. Big sigh. Nope, you can’t plug this into your Xbox for VR magic. What we’ve got here is basically the Quest 3S in a snazzy new outfit—Xbox’s Carbon Black and Velocity Green. Yeah, it’s a color thing.

Now, let’s chat about what’s in this magical box of wonders. For $399.99, you’re getting more than just a headset. There’s the matching Touch Plus controllers for VR and MR. Yep, they’re real and they’re fabulous. There’s also a limited edition Xbox controller, an Elite Strap (and nope, it’s not the one with an extra battery), and a three-month pass to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate. I mean, that’s a lot of stuff for one box, right?

Oh! And there’s this pic of the headset in action. Imagine this: gears turning, players immersed, possibly confused. I looked at it and thought, "Wow, they really went there."

Anyway, if you were to grab all these goodies separately, you’d be flushing about $490 down the drain. So, this bundle? It’s kind of a steal. Here’s how the math plays out: Quest 3S with controllers is $299, an Elite Strap is $69, a regular Xbox controller at $64, and the Game Pass at sixty bucks.

But hey, a little caveat. If you’ve already got an Xbox controller and a Game Pass, maybe don’t jump in just yet. See, they let Xbox cloud gaming on the Quest thing happen last year. So, if you’ve got a Quest 2 or newer, you can already play over 400 games in the cloud. Yep, they snuck that in there.

Oh, and here’s a bonus: the Quest 3S Xbox edition throws in a three-month ride on Meta’s Horizon+ service. Normally, that’s $8 a pop monthly. Horizon+ lets you snatch up 30+ Quest games, stuff like Asgard’s Wrath 2 and Red Matter. And you get to keep two random games each month as long as you stay on.

Insert thoughtful pause here. Someone’s on the fence about this product. If that’s you, maybe peek at someone’s review of the Quest 3S for specs and insights. Spoiler: there’s no roller coaster, but the ride might still surprise you.

Oh right, so the Quest 3S Xbox Edition? It saw the light of day at Connect 2024 last April—which was a whole moment. But plot twist: Meta’s whispering about more XR headsets on the horizon. And, wait for it—they’re teaming up with ASUS Republic of Gamers and Lenovo. Those headsets will be cruising with Horizon OS, the ASUS one aiming at performance, and Lenovo’s steering towards productivity and fun. Wonder how that’ll pan out. Suspense, much?

In the meantime, you can snatch the Quest 3S Xbox Edition right now from meta.com, Best Buy (if you’re hanging in the US), or even Argos and EE (for the folks in the UK). But fair warning, those bad boys are limited stock. Once they’re gone… well, it’s a "see ya!" situation.

And there it is. A chaotic spin on the latest tech gossip. Dive in at your own risk.