Saying that Meta will usher in a “new era of mixed reality,” the tech company today announced it’s partnering with ASUS to develop new third-party gaming headsets.
Meta revealed in a blog post that ASUS’ Republic of Gamers (ROG) brand will develop third-party gaming headsets that will run Meta’s new hardware ecosystem, Horizon OS, but Meta did not provide any further details about the headsets.
“We are inspired by the incredible gaming community that has formed around virtual and mixed reality, and we know the most passionate gamers demand high-performance hardware,” wrote ASUS co-CEO SY Hsu. “With Meta Horizon OS, ASUS and the Republic of Gamers are building the next generation of gaming headsets.”
Meta is partnering with ASUS to develop third-party headsets running Meta’s new Horizon operating system. | Image courtesy of Meta.
Meta also announced similar partnerships with Xbox and Lenovo. The former is producing a “limited edition Xbox-inspired Meta Quest.” The description is pretty vague, but it sounds like it will be an Xbox-themed reskin of the Meta Quest 3. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg revealed in an Instagram post that the headset will “come with an Xbox controller and Game Pass.” In contrast, Lenovo is developing a new headset focused on “productivity, learning, and entertainment.”
Besides the new hardware efforts, Meta also talked about some software changes, first revealing that the Meta Quest Store will be renamed to Meta Horizon Store and will have an App Lab section. Previously, Meta ran two separate Quest storefronts, with App Lab hosting experimental and in-development apps.
Interestingly, Meta revealed that it is relaxing the policy with the goal that a more open OS for the hardware ecosystem will give Quest owners better access to content from other stores like Steam. Meta also encouraged Google to bring the Google Play Store to Quest headsets, saying that it “can operate under the same economic model as other platforms.”
The announcement comes as Meta continues on its path to becoming a pioneer in the mixed reality and metaverse market, a focus the company began shifting after rebranding its parent company from Facebook, Inc. to Meta in 2021. The shift also comes after dominating the VR market for the past few years, thanks in part to its Quest headsets, specifically the Quest 2.
Taylor is a reporter for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter. thank you.
