Meta says fewer Quest 3s collecting dust – is VR’s biggest problem a thing of the past?
At this year’s Game Developers Conference (GDC 2024), Meta revealed that the Meta Quest 3 has higher retention rates than any previous VR headset – suggesting that one of VR’s biggest problems is a thing of the past.
VR gadgets have become incredibly popular in recent years – just look at the sales success of the Oculus Quest 2 and the huge hype surrounding the Apple Vision Pro – but there has been a silent killer for them all: retention. This is evident from an internal report shared by The edge in March 2023, Meta was concerned about the relatively low engagement of Quest 2 users and was apparently emphasized to staff by Mark Rabkin, Meta’s vice president of VR, that the company “needs to be better at growth and retention.”
That emphasis appears to be paying off, with Chris Pruett, Meta’s Director of Content Ecosystem, saying the Quest 3 has a higher retention rate than any previous Meta/Oculus headset.
Meta hasn’t offered a direct explanation as to why the headsets hold the owner’s attention better than its predecessors, but we have more than a few theories.
The first and perhaps most important is the simplicity of the Quest 3. Once it’s charged, you can just put it on and start playing a VR game straight away, unlike older PCVR models. This reason is also likely why the original Oculus Quest had the highest retention of any Oculus headset ever, according to John Carmack in 2019 (via Upload VR)
Another likely reason the Quest 3 was able to go a step further in terms of retention is software. The Quest store has been around for about five years, and in that time developers have created a fantastic VR catalog of cross-platform and exclusive software.
The Quest 3 has also raised the bar with good specs and a solid mixed reality passthrough, giving app makers even more options to develop meaningful software that owners will want to use regularly.
This, and the headset’s less bulky and more comfortable design, are, as we see it, the two biggest reasons we’ve started using the device more regularly than the Quest 2.
Finally, there is a belief that the higher cost of the Quest 3 could boost retention levels. At $299 / £299 / AU$479, the Quest 2 was almost an impulse buy in the tech space – especially considering it also came out not long before the pandemic, a period when people typically had more disposable income.
While the Quest 3, priced at $499.99 / £479.99 / AU$799.99 – and launched at a time when disposable income is typically a lot lower – is much more of a considered purchase. So if you don’t plan on using the new Meta device quite often, you’re more likely to stop yourself from buying it.
Why is higher retention important?
Why isn’t a higher retention rate that important to you or us, other than making it easier to get a VR team together to play a multiplayer game?
From a hardware perspective, this suggests the Quest 3 is doing something right – whether it’s its focus on mixed reality, its new balance between specs and cost, or a combination of factors. This could tell us what future devices could look like; specifically that they could try to follow the Quest 3’s lead by leaning further into mixed reality, or that the Mainline Quest headset will keep a similar price (in exchange for better specs) – which could pave the way for the rumors cheaper Meta Quest 3 Lite.
It can also encourage VR software development, as it shows developers that there is a reliable market for meaningful VR software. So if you already have a Quest headset, you may see more and better apps appear in the future.
Considering Meta made the announcement at GDC 2024, one is probably hoping this last point turns out to be true. However, given the speed of hardware and software development, we will probably have to wait and see what the Quest 3’s renewed popularity means in practical terms.