- Meta has announced the end of support for two of its popular VR headsets
- The devices affected are the Quest 2 and the Quest 2 Pro
- Support will be discontinued at the end of 2027
If you own a Meta Quest 2 or a Meta Quest Pro virtual reality headset, we’ve got some bad news: Meta has announced it is planning to wind down support for these devices next year, leaving large numbers of users without support for their VR products.
An announcement on the Meta blog aimed at developers details how things stand for creators of apps and services made for these headsets. With the two devices “reaching the end of feature development,” big changes are on the way.
For one thing, new app submissions for these devices will be closed in December 2027. For another, version 2.13 of the Quest’s operating system (due out in March 2027) will be the last one to work with these headsets. Quarterly security patches and critical bug fixes will continue “through the end of 2027,” Meta said.
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Still, Meta attempted to reassure developers of apps made for these VR headsets, stating that “People on Quest 2 and Quest Pro can still find, buy, download, and play your apps.” Cross-play with Quest 3 and Quest 3S headsets will continue, and developers can keep sending out updates to Quest 2 and Quest 2 Pro users.
And Meta’s app store for VR headsets will continue to be available to users of these soon-to-be-discontinued devices, with the firm saying that “people keep access to everything they’ve purchased, and no apps will be removed from the Store because of this change.”
Time to upgrade?
The Quest 2 launched in 2020, making it six years old at this point. Although we scored it highly in our review, it’s since been succeeded by the Quest 3, which is our pick for the best VR headset around. Evidently, Meta feels it’s now time to retire the Quest 2 and its Quest 2 Pro sibling, with the Quest Pro line having allegedly been phased out entirely in 2024.
Meta framed the change as one that’s paving the way for its upcoming VR Glasses. The company said that the Quest 3 and Quest 3S are “the baseline for Meta VR gamers” with its VR Glasses due to bring “another leap forward” for the industry. In that world, there’s apparently no more room for the Quest 2 and Quest 2 Pro.
Continuing app development for the Quest 2 and Quest 2 Pro might prove to be tricky, as Meta says it will not test new operating system and SDK releases on these products. Instead, it’ll be up to developers to ensure their apps function as intended.
Meta urged developers to assess how much of their audience is using Quest 2 and Quest 2 Pro devices and to consider splitting their releases to accommodate those on older headsets. If developers want to end support for these products, they should give users at least 180 days’ notice if customers could end up losing access to content or services as a result.
If you’ve got a Meta Quest 2 or Meta Quest 2 Pro at home, you’ll need to think about what you want to do going forward. While you should be able to continue using your headset, the lack of critical bug fixes after the end of 2027 could prove to be a problem. In that case, it might finally be time to upgrade to one of the best VR headsets to ensure you don’t miss out on anything.
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