Mark Zuckerburg confirms Meta’s next VR headset will launch in October

Facebook owner Meta will launch its next VR headset in October.

The company has seen huge success with the Quest 2 (formerly Oculus Quest 2) standalone VR headset which combined aggressive pricing, low technical requirements and a wide platform of apps and games to sell more than 14.8 million units since launching in late 2020.

And now the company looks set to launch its sequel, with CEO Mark Zuckerberg admitting as much when discussing VR on The Joe Rogan Experience.

He told the host that there are “big features” coming to “the next device that’s coming out in October.”

Listing features, the CEO said: “The ability to now have kind of eye contact in virtual reality. Have your face be tracked so that way your avatar – it’s not just this still thing, but if you smile or if you frown or if you pout, or whatever your expression is, have that translate in real time to your avatar.”

This new device is likely the product in development at Meta which has been codenamed ‘Project Cambria’. This headset would cost significantly higher than the existing Quest, with a high-resolution colour screen, internal sensors for eye tracking and passthrough augmented reality. Leaked code has suggested the device could be called Meta Quest Pro.

While the Quest initially launched as a gaming platform, Meta has increasingly shifted the focus – both in marketing and development – away from game experiences and more towards productivity tools and social interactivity. The company views VR as an essential cornerstone of its metaverse strategy, and wants to dominate it by providing a range of accessible devices that sit within its ecosystem.