VR gamers are now able to subscribe to Meta Quest+, a subscription service designed to eliminate the high cost of VR gaming.
Revealed by Facebook parent company Meta, the new subscription service acts as an Xbox Game Pass-like service for VR games. Considering the low attach rate of software for VR users, the new service could be an integral tool for the future of VR.
The Meta Quest+ service doesn’t give users access to a huge library of titles to play. Instead, the subscription offers a short selection of games that change every month, keeping the service fresh.
For $7.99 USD per month or $59.99 USD annually, you’ll have access to two new games every month. These games will stay in your library for as long as you have the subscription service, similar to Xbox Live Gold or PlayStation Plus. If you cancel, you’ll have to rejoin to gain access to those games again.
To start the service, Meta is offering two of the greatest games on the Quest hardware: Pistol Whip and Pixel Whipped 1995. In August, subscribers will be treated to Walkabout Mini Golf and MOTHERGUNSHIP: FORGE.
The subscription service is only available for Meta Quest 2 and Meta Quest Pro users, abandoning the original Quest hardware. Anyone who gets a Meta Quest 3 headset when it launches later this year will also be able to use the service.
Until July 31st, Meta is offering a discounted price for VR gamers who sign up to the subscription plan. Those who jump in will be able to get their first month for just $1.
Considering how expensive VR games are, VR developers have suffered from low attach rates of software compared to high hardware sales. Furthermore, for consumers, VR games are typically too expensive to justify simply jumping in, and far few demos are available for the genre.
With this in mind, Meta Quest+ could be the service that VR gamers desperately need for the industry to survive. If Meta properly supports the video game subscription service, this could be the knight in shining armour that the hardware needs.