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Meta hasn’t done a lot with its Quest VR platform this year (in fact, it’s done more to dismantle it), but it’s throwing an Xbox bonus into its gaming subscription plan to try to sweeten the deal.
Horizon Plus, the monthly gaming subscription service for Meta’s Quest VR headsets, is adding an Xbox Game Pass starter edition that includes a limited amount of cloud gaming time a month.
The starter pass only allows 10 hours of Xbox gaming a month, which isn’t a lot, but it could be a welcome extra for anyone who’s already paying $60 a year or $8 a month for the service. It has access to the games on Xbox’s Essential Edition Game Pass (about 50 games), which normally costs $10 a month for unlimited access.
This is Meta’s latest collaboration with Microsoft, which previously included an Xbox-themed Quest 3S headset and a dedicated Xbox cloud gaming app on the Quest.
Usually you have to pair an Xbox controller to the Quest to play Xbox games, but Meta’s also introducing a software update for its Touch controllers that will mimic the inputs needed for Xbox games. It won’t be the same as the gamepad-like layout on Valve’s upcoming Steam Frame, but it looks like a move designed to keep the Quest competitive with what Valve’s SteamOS-ready VR headset has coming.
Meta’s subscription service is well worth signing up for, because its 100-plus games include many of the best titles on the platform. It also raises questions on whether Meta might be readying a new Quest headset in the next year, too, something that Meta’s CTO, Andrew Bosworth, has heavily hinted at.
Scott Stein
Editor at Large
I started with CNET reviewing laptops in 2009. Now I explore wearable tech, VR/AR, tablets, gaming and future/emerging trends in our changing world. Other obsessions include magic, immersive theater, puzzles, board games, cooking, improv and the New York Jets. My background includes an MFA in theater which I apply to thinking about immersive experiences of the future. See full bio
