The new Meta Quest 3 is one of the best mixed reality headsets on the market. However, the device’s high price has turned many players away, but the high Meta Quest 3 price is there for a reason.
After years of wasting billions on its failed metaverse project, the Meta Quest 3 was supposed to be Meta’s big return. With the Meta Quest 2 being massively successful, many assumed its follow-up would also be a big deal, but poor Meta Quest 3 sales have led to a huge supply cut.
Via XRDaily, it seems the Meta Quest 3 price barely covers the cost of components on the machine. While not technically sold at a loss, the new headsets are barely making a profit with each headset sold, meaning Meta is hoping software sales will keep the headsets alive.
At the time of writing, the Meta Quest 3 price sits at $499.99 for the base 128GB model. The device’s largest storage model, 512GB, costs $649.99.
According to the article, the total cost of materials for a base model Meta Quest 3 headset is $398.22. After assembly and other materials to box up the device, the total cost adds up to a whopping $428.22. After taxes, this number has been estimated at $478. After shipping costs, the price of paying for defects/returns, Meta may not be making any money on the headsets themselves. If the headset is sold though a service like Amazon, which takes a hefty cut of products sold, then the device is lost certainly making a loss.
There’s also the fact that, on paper, the Meta Quest 3 could be taken as a loss for the company. After years of research and development, it doesn’t seem that Meta is making its money back on the new mixed reality headset, likely leading to rumours of a cut-down Meta Quest 3 Lite model for next year.
However, if the Meta Quest 3 Lite sticks with the same mainboard and processor as the current headset, it may also end up being sold at a loss. Nevertheless, with Meta taking 30% of all software sales on the Meta Quest Store, it can make money back if enough players buy multiple games. This is the same way that console manufacturers such as Xbox, Nintendo and PlayStation make money.
The Meta Quest 3 is available to purchase right now from multiple retailers, including Amazon, Curry’s and more.