Meta Unveils Quest 3S Xbox Edition for $400, Bundling Controller and 3-Month Cloud Gaming Pass

Alright, let me try to piece this together in a human way. Deep breath, here goes:

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Okay, so Meta and Microsoft just did this thing—like a collaboration, I guess?—and they announced this Quest 3S Xbox Edition. It hit the shelves today! But, let me get this straight right away: this isn’t the VR thing Xbox fans have been dreaming of. It’s not like you’re gonna hook this up to your Xbox and dive into VR games. Nope. It’s more about a hyped-up version of the regular Quest 3S. Picture it all decked out in Xbox’s Carbon Black and flashy Velocity Green. Yeah, it looks cool.

Now, you’re looking at $399.99 for this. And what do you get? A matching set of Touch Plus controllers for VR and MR, which sounds fancy. There’s also a limited edition Xbox controller… because, why not? And, oh, an Elite Strap (no extra battery, darn). Plus, you snag a three-month Xbox Game Pass Ultimate. Kind of like a gaming starter pack, right?

Now, imagine unboxing this stuff. The smell of fresh plastic—no idea why I notice this, but it’s oddly satisfying.

Right, if you’d bought all this separately, it’s like $490. So, technically, it’s a steal? Here’s the math if you’re into that: Quest 3S 128GB is $299, the Elite Strap runs $69, standard Xbox controller goes for $64, and that Game Pass? Another $60.

But… and here’s a big but! If you’re someone who already has an Xbox controller and an active Game Pass, maybe you’re not jumping out of your seat for this. Ever since late 2023, Xbox cloud gaming hit the Quest scene, with support all the way from Quest 2 up, unlocking epicness in over 400 cloud-supported games.

And here’s a little sweetener: the Quest 3S Xbox Edition also packs in a three-month deal with Meta’s Horizon+ game service. Normally, it’s like $8 a month. So, you get to enjoy 30+ Quest games—think Asgard’s Wrath 2, Red Matter, Demeo—and two extra games each month you can hang on to as long as you stay subscribed. Pretty neat, huh?

Feeling indecisive? Well, the experts over in review land might have something to say, so check out their thoughts on the Quest 3S for all those specs and deep dive bits.

Now, here’s some inside info: Meta announced this Quest 3S Xbox Edition back in April at Connect 2024. And there’s more on the horizon—sorry, can’t resist a pun—with new XR headsets from ASUS Republic of Gamers and Lenovo coming. ASUS is all about performance, while Lenovo is targeting, well, basically everything else—productivity, learning, and entertainment.

If this all piques your interest, you can grab the Quest 3S Xbox Edition at meta.com, Best Buy in the US, and Argos or EE in the UK, starting now. But hurry. They say the supply’s “extremely limited.” So, who knows how long they’ll last?

Anyway—wait, was I saying something? Never mind. Go check it out if you’re curious.