Meta’s VR Quest Headsets to Cost More as Memory Shortage Bites
In Focus
- Meta has increased the prices of VR headsets by up to $100
- The company said prices of Quest accessories will remain unchanged
- New VR headset prices will take effect on April 19, 2026
Meta plans to increase the prices of its virtual reality headsets starting April 19, 2026. Meta is raising Quest headset prices due to high memory chip costs. The social media giant becomes the latest tech company to increase hardware prices due to a shortage of RAM, following firms like Samsung and Microsoft.
VR Headset Prices Increase by $50 and $100
Meta will increase the cost of Quest 3S (128GB) by $50 to sell at $349.99. The 256GB version will also increase by $50 to sell at $449.99. The biggest price jump will be for Quest 3, whose cost will hit $599.99 after a $100 increase.
“We’re making this change because the cost of building high-performance VR hardware has risen significantly. The global surge in the price of critical components, specifically memory chips, is impacting almost every category of consumer electronics, including VR. To keep delivering the quality of hardware, software, and support you expect from the Quest platform, we need to adjust our pricing,” Meta posted on its blog post.
The cost of Meta Quest accessories will remain unchanged. However, refurbished headsets are set to cost more. The price of refurbished Quest 3S units will also increase by $50. This price hike means a refurbished 128GB model will now cost $320, while the 256GB version will cost $410.
Meta has increased the price of a refurbished Quest 3 by a bigger margin. This VR’s price will increase by $170 to $550. The social media giant announced the price hike about two months after the International Data Corporation (IDC) warned that the memory chip shortage would make low-cost smartphones unsustainable.
Impact of RAM Shortage on VR Headsets
The price increase on Meta VR headsets could weigh on sales as questions on whether Mark Zuckerberg’s “metaverse” vision is fading. Last year, Meta revealed the Hyperscape VR space, a new platform that enables businesses and professionals to convert physical environments into fully immersive virtual reality.
Recently, the social media giant reduced support for Horizon Worlds, which was considered a key part of Meta’s virtual reality strategy. But the company noted that it is still committed to investing in virtual reality in its price hike announcement.
“Meta remains committed to investing in VR and leading the category because we believe this is the future of computing. We have a long-term roadmap full of new hardware and experiences, and this adjustment helps us stay on track to deliver that future,” Meta added.
How is the Memory Chip Crunch Affecting Electronics?
The memory chip shortage is affecting electronics across the board. It has pushed RAM prices globally as growing demand from AI companies affects supply. Tech companies like Sony and Microsoft have announced price hikes for various devices.
Earlier this week, Microsoft increased the price of its Surface PCs due to the memory chip shortage. Sony has also increased the prices of its PlayStation Portal and PS5 console.
