Meta To Continue To Support Quest 2 Alongside Quest 3 Headset

With today's Meta Quest 3 reveal, like an only child side-eying their newborn sibling, Quest 2 owners are rightly nervous about the fate of their VR headset. After all, Meta responded to early signals of its mainstream appeal with a significant advertising push over the past couple of years. Gamers responded by throwing their money indiscriminately into this leg of the so-called metaverse.

So, that begs the question: will the Meta Quest 2 get left behind? Thankfully, it sounds like there's nothing for Quest 2 owners to worry about — not yet. Responding to a question about long-term support for the headset, Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth suggested on Twitter that all new games shown during its Gaming Showcase event will be playable on the Meta Quest 2.

Thanks! Just to be clear, players should not expect to see games drop Quest 2 support like they dropped Quest 1 support? (Population One, Onward, VRChat, think there were others)

â€" @seanhollister@mastodon.world (@StarFire2258) June 1, 2023

However, he didn't rule out that future titles could eventually be exclusive to Meta Quest 3. The new headset offers mixed reality functionality, roughly double the graphical performance of the Quest 2, and a much sharper resolution (which is where much of that power will help with cross-gen releases). If developers target the Quest 3's hardware and want to maximize its power, games won't easily port back to the older headset. However, Bosworth mentioned that we shouldn't expect a swift transition, noting that we'll see platform parity for "quite a while." That's not the confidence-oozing statement Quest 2 owners want to hear, but at least we know it won't be immediately antiquated.

Need some reassurance? Earlier today, Meta also revealed a new price drop for the Quest 2, likely to clear some excess units ahead of a gradual changing of the guard. But it also echoed a commitment to protecting the current VR headset's relevancy by announcing an over-the-air performance upgrade.

Meta Quest 2 owners will enjoy CPU and GPU performance boosts of 26% and 19%, respectively. We assume part of Meta's motive for the push is to help the handset better handle ports of games designed for the much more powerful and sharp Quest 3, but the company also demoed improvements in existing titles. The added power helps achieve decent resolution upticks in games like "Red Matter 2" and "The Walking Dead: Saints and Sinners." The update also promises improved fluidity for the Meta Quest 2's user interface, plus faster framerates in some games.

Should you buy a Meta Quest 2 at this point? That'll largely depend on your budget. The Meta Quest 2 now starts at $299 for the 128 GB model, while the Meta Quest 3 comes in at $499. If you're all-in on mixed reality and want to future-proof for the newest games, go with the Quest 3. But if you can't make it work financially, it sounds like ample life will flow through the Quest 2 for at least the next year, and there's still a hefty backlog of VR games to enjoy.