Meta Quest 3S Xbox Edition

Pro

Affordable VR
Standalone
Immersive
Availability
Color Scheme

Con

Screen Resolution
Gimmicky
Limited Games
Headset Speakers
Xbox Streaming

Without warning, Meta Quest 3S Xbox Edition was suddenly available for sale today (June 24, 2025). This is an Xbox Edition of the standalone virtual reality headset Meta Quest 3S, which came out last October.

The Xbox version of the affordable Meta Quest 3S ($299) adds an Xbox controller (unique to this set), a “premium” head strap, three months of Game Pass, and a black & green color scheme, for an additional $100. This directly competes with PlayStation VR2, which also retails for $399.

However, the two are very different, with the PS VR2, you are required to own a PS5, which costs another $500 or $800 (for the Pro version). With additional costs of VR games, you’re pushing a grand if you’re considering getting into PlayStation VR. It’s probably still cheaper than an Apple Vision Pro, a paperweight that costs $3,500.

The Meta Quest 3S can operate independently, meaning you do not need to own an Xbox… but that is also its downfall. The headset is simply not powerful enough to natively run Xbox games, so you need to stream Xbox’s games using their Cloud Gaming service. I don’t love this, because, at the moment, I don’t really have reliable internet (I’m running the internet off my phone). This is one of the key reasons why I have zero interest in this product.

You can use the Meta Quest for other things, such as playing Meta Quest-only games or watching a movie or YouTube… but is doing it in VR worth that $400 price tag? Especially when you consider that you have to strap on the headset, power on the device, make sure your controllers have batteries, do that whole 1080p virtual navigation…
It’s a hard pass for me.

P.S. If you want to save $100, just buy the Meta Quest 3S regular edition as it is exactly the same thing as the Xbox Edition, minus the gaming controller and color scheme.