Meta, the company behind Facebook and Instagram, is raising prices on its Quest virtual reality headsets by up to $100, becoming the latest technology company to pass on the rising cost of memory chips to consumers.
The price increases, which take effect on Saturday, will push the entry-level Quest 3S from $299 to $349 for the model with 128 gigabytes of storage and from $399 to $449 for the 256-gigabyte version.
The higher-end Quest 3 with 512 gigabytes of storage rises by $100 to $599.
Meta said the increases are being driven by a global surge in the price of memory chips, the components inside electronic devices that store data and allow software to run.
The company did not name a specific cause, but the shortage has been widely attributed to explosive demand from the artificial intelligence industry, which requires vast quantities of memory to train and run AI systems in data centres.
That demand has tightened supply for every other product that uses the same components, from games consoles and laptops to smartphones and VR headsets.
Meta is not alone in raising prices.
Sony has increased the cost of the PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 5 Pro, pushing the total price of a full PlayStation VR2 system above $1,000 for the first time.
Microsoft raised prices on its Xbox Series X console earlier, and Valve, the company behind the Steam gaming platform, has said it needs to revisit the pricing and shipping schedule for its upcoming Steam Frame handheld and Steam Machine console because of the same memory shortage.
Apple's latest MacBook laptops also arrived at higher price points than their predecessors, though the company bundled upgraded components alongside the increases.
Refurbished Quest headsets will also cost more.
A refurbished Quest 3S rises by $50 to $319 for the smaller model and $409 for the larger, while refurbished Quest 3 units jump by $170 to $549.
Accessories will remain at their current prices.
The headsets had been among the most affordable ways to experience virtual reality, and Meta has historically subsidised the hardware to build a large user base for its metaverse ambitions and VR software platform.
The Quest 3S at $299 was particularly important as a gateway device for people who had never tried VR.
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At $349, the entry price moves further from the impulse-purchase territory Meta had been trying to occupy and closer to prices where consumers begin comparing the headset against other entertainment spending.
Meta said it remains committed to VR and has a long-term hardware roadmap, but the price increases underscore how the AI boom is creating knock-on costs across the technology industry, even for products with no direct connection to artificial intelligence.
The recap
- Meta raises prices for Quest 3 and Quest 3S headsets.
- Quest 3S now $349.99 for 128GB, $449.99 for 256GB.
- Company cites a global memory chip price surge.
