A VR Game Pass might be coming to your Oculus Quest 2, but it’s not what we wanted
It looks like Meta plans to launch its own version of Xbox Game Pass for the Quest 2 and Quest Pro, which will give you access to free VR games and apps each month while you’re subscribed. Unfortunately it won’t be the service we hoped it would be.
The Oculus Quest 2 might be the best VR headset out there for most people, in part because it has access to an incredible library of VR software. However, for every great VR game or app out there, there’s some chaff that isn’t worth your time – and filtering out the bad from the hidden gems can be tough unless the title is already super popular.
That’s why we felt Meta should borrow HTC’s Viveport Infinity idea – a subscription model for VR software. These types of services reduce the risk of trying unfamiliar VR apps since you don’t pay for each title individually. You can try as many games as you need to find your new favourite, and all you wasted on the hunt was some time instead of a bunch of your hard-earned cash.
So we were pretty excited to see a leak Shiny Quagsire on Twitter (opens in new tab) that teased a subscription model – Quest Pass or Project Apollo – appears to be in development for Meta’s Quest platform. However, the leaked terms and conditions of Quest Pass aren’t quite the Viveport Infinity or Game Pass style model we’ve been looking for.
Apparently Meta is adding a game pass for Quest soon, “Project Apollo”. Accessible through this deep link URI (at least on Android) oculus://view/platform_subscription pic.twitter.com/Bz5321zRpvMarch 4, 2023
While the name Quest Pass evokes thoughts of Xbox Game Pass, it’s actually more like Games with Gold or PS Plus Essential. Instead of accessing a library of titles, you can “get up to two new apps or games each month.” Plus – like these rival services – you apparently lose access to all your Quest Pass games and apps once you stop subscribing.
Games with Gold or PS Plus Essential are certainly good deals, but the limited number of games you get access to each month means you’re more likely to be offered a title that isn’t your cup of tea compared to Game Pass – where the library of games and apps is much bigger. Because of this, it doesn’t look like the leaked version of Quest Pass will be the VR software solution we hoped it would be.
That said, this is just a leak for the service and not a full announcement. If Quest Pass is still under development, the service may change. Even if it doesn’t change and launches as the leaked version, Quest Pass can still be an excellent deal if the software selection is great and the price is reasonable.
We’ll have to wait and see what Meta announces in the coming months, but since it’s already lowering the price of its VR headsets we wouldn’t be surprised if it has a few more tricks up its sleeve like Quest Pass to give people another reason to going for its headsets rather than Sony’s PSVR 2 or the HTC Vive XR Elite.