Xbox and Meta have teamed up to release the Meta Quest 3S Xbox Edition, which the companies say is the first-ever limited-edition Quest headset. The collaboration isn’t quite proof that Xbox is embracing VR and mixed reality — it’s being released to “celebrate the experience of Xbox Cloud Gaming” on Meta Quest, the companies say.
The Meta Quest 3S Xbox Edition will be available for $399.99 in limited quantities. The bundle will include Meta’s Quest 3D headset with 128 GB of storage in “Xbox Carbon Black and Velocity Green,” matching Touch Plus controllers, an Xbox wireless controller, and a three-month Xbox Games Pass Ultimate membership. Meta Quest 3S Xbox Edition will be sold from xbox.com, Best Buy in the U.S., and Argos and EE in the U.K.
The partnership may appear on its face like an unusual move at this stage of the Xbox business, but the stand-alone Meta Quest 3S has been capable of playing Xbox Game Pass games for the past 18 months. In December 2023, Microsoft and Meta brought the beta version of the Xbox Cloud Gaming app to Quest platforms. Quest owners can play titles like Forza Motorsport, Starfield, and Hi-Fi Rush on the headsets’ virtual display, without the need to hog the living room TV. Now, Xbox Cloud Gaming players have a headset to call their own, with black and green branding, and Microsoft can get a sense of just how many more players might be interested in playing Xbox games through a headset.
So, add the Meta Quest 3S to the list of devices that can legitimately be called an Xbox.
Meta and Microsoft first announced plans to release a limited-edition Meta Quest “inspired by Xbox” last year. Microsoft has previously flirted with bringing VR and mixed reality to its Xbox platforms; in 2017, Microsoft committed to bringing mixed reality content to Project Scorpio, the console that would later be released as the Xbox One X.