Here's what happens with Meta Quest 1
Meta heralds the final phase of Oculus Quest 1. More VR games may drop support for the VR headset after this.
Earlier this year, Meta announced support changes for the first Meta Quest via email. More detailed information is now available on the developer blog.
The device was released in May 2019 under the name Oculus Quest, and was replaced by Oculus Quest 2 in October 2020, which was renamed Meta Quest 2 a year later. Meta Quest 3 is expected to be released at the end of the year, which will in turn replace Meta Quest 2.
Here's what Meta says is changing:
- Meta Quest 1 will not receive any new features after Update 50. The current firmware for Quest devices is Update 49.
- Critical bug fixes and security patches will be delivered to the device until August 2024.
- Support for social features will end on March 5, 2023. Meta Quest 1 users will no longer be able to invite others to their Horizon Home, visit other users' Home environments, or create or join a party.
- As of February 1, 2024, the Meta Quest Store will no longer accept new Quest 1 applications.
Studios may soon stop supporting Quest 1
Meta emphasizes that Quest 1 will not be discontinued. Developers and users will be able to use Quest 1 devices beyond 2024, with the latter continuing to have full access to their existing apps and games.
This statement contradicts another announcement: That studios will be allowed to drop Quest 1 support for their VR apps under certain conditions. Quest 1 users will be forced to upgrade to a newer device (Meta Quest 2 or 3) or play via PC VR streaming.
An email and blog post with more information will follow in March. These are intended to help developers manage long-term support for Quest 1 and will include legal requirements for ending support for the application.
Developers must notify their customers of this change 180 days before Quest 1 support ends. Starting in March 2023, they will be able to assign different programs (called "binaries") to different Quest devices.
Popular VR game drops Meta Quest 1 support
VR apps subsequently dropping Quest 1 support is a recent development. Paid battle royale game Population: One will no longer be playable with Meta Quest 1 on October 31, 2022, and yesterday the studio behind military sim Onward reported that native Quest 1 support for the VR game will end on July 31, 2023. Both studios are owned by Meta.
To focus our development efforts, we will no longer support Quest 1 devices as of July 31st, 2023.
For more details about this please see our FAQ page: https://t.co/b0pOov8ruB #OnwardVR #OnwardtheGame
— Onward (@OnwardTheGame) January 31, 2023
Meta hinted last year that third-party developers would soon be able to stop supporting Quest 1. This possibility is getting closer. Details about the conditions are expected to be announced in March. Then it will be possible to estimate how many VR applications might be affected.
For Meta Quest 2 and 3 owners, the end of Quest 1 support is good news: VR studios can focus on getting the most out of modern hardware. Meta Quest 1 uses a smartphone chip that was released in 2017, and was already outdated by the time the VR headset was released.
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