Meta gives its Quest 2 and Quest Pro VR headsets a free performance upgrade

Meta’s giving their Quest 2 headset a hefty performance upgrade in the wake of their Quest 3 reveal

Following the reveal of their new Quest 3 headset, Meta has made it clear that they have no plans to abandon their existing Quest 2 series headset, stating that the Quest 2 will remains as an affordable entry point into VR gaming, revealing that the headset will be receiving a free performance boost through a new headset update and a new, lower, price. 

Pricing-wise, the Quest 2 will now coast $299.99 in the US for the 128GB model and $349.99 for the headset’s 256GB model. While this is technically a price decrease, it is simply a reversal the price increase that Meta enacted in 2022. As such, this price drop could be considered a return to normalcy. 

Both Meta’s Quest 2 and Quest Pro VR headsets will be receiving healthy CPU and GPU performance upgrades, with the both headsets receiving a reported 26% increase in CPU performance while the Quest 2 receives a 19% GPU speed boost and the Quest Pro receives a 11% GPU speed boost.

These performance gains will allow existing games to run better on Meta’s existing headset, and give developers more hardware umph to utilise when creating newer titles. At this time, it is unknown how these performance gains will impact the battery life of Meta’s Quest 2 and Quest Pro VR headsets.

    But that’s not all! In an upcoming software update, we’re updating the Quest 2 and Quest Pro GPU and CPU. Quest 2 and Pro will see an up-to 26% CPU performance increase with an up-to 19% GPU speed increase for Quest 2 and 11% for Quest Pro. As developers take advantage of these changes, you can expect smoother gameplay, a more responsive UI, and richer content on both headsets. And we’re enabling Dynamic Resolution Scaling for both Quest 2 and Quest Pro, so games and apps can take advantage of increased pixel density without dropping frames.

Meta plans to sell their Quest 2 and Quest Pro VR headsets alongside their new Quest 3 headset, and plans to continue releasing software updates to improve both of their older headsets. Meta’s Quest 3 VR headset will be capable of playing all software that runs on their Quest 2 VR headset, giving Quest 2 users a clear upgrade path. 

With their performance upgrades for their Quest 2 and Quest Pro VR headsets, Meta are allowing developers to increase the clarity of their games by targeting higher resolutions. The video above showcases the impact of these performance gains in action in some Quest 2 games. 

You can join the discussion on Meta’s Quest 2 and Quest Pro VR headset performance upgrades on the OC3D Forums.