Xbox has officially released its first VR headset today in partnership with Meta, known as the Meta Quest 3S Xbox Edition. The main focus from an Xbox perspective is to play Xbox Cloud Gaming titles on it, but it still allows you to play VR games as well - it's basically just a standard Meta Quest 3S with Xbox branding and some cool extras.
We haven't been lucky enough to go hands-on with the Meta Quest 3S Xbox Edition just yet, but a small handful of outlets such as The Verge and Windows Central have - so their early previews / reviews for the device are down below.
Here's what they're saying about the Meta Quest 3S Xbox Edition so far:
Windows Central
"Xbox Cloud Gaming on the Meta Quest 3S is absolutely awesome... A quick sign-in, and you can immediately begin playing anything on the Xbox Cloud Gaming catalogue, and bring your Xbox console saves with you as well. You can pin windows to follow you around the house, set them to be extremely large cinema-sized displays, multitask with other windows side-by-side with a YouTube video, or even shut off the cameras and immerse yourself in a virtual environment of your choosing."
"This is perhaps not the most obvious partnership in the world, but it's pretty nifty for hardcore fans who want to "Xboxcessorize" all of their accessories. I think there are some pretty clear missed opportunities for deeper integrations, of course, like the Xbox share button being useless here, for example."
Gizmodo (4/5)
"The Xbox edition bundle is a great deal, plus the headset looks better in black. You just won't have the best displays for game streaming."
The Verge
"I think this type of "Xbox" makes sense if you don't want to lug a heavy console on vacation or have to worry about attaching a screen. It's really all in a single package, but you'll need to pay that monthly $1.99 subscription fee for Game Pass Ultimate. This really would be more appealing if Microsoft finally launched its long-rumoured dedicated cloud gaming subscription or even a free ad-supported version that it has hinted at in the past."
As you can see, there are mixed impressions in terms of whether the Meta Quest 3S Xbox Edition is worth the money, although all three outlets have plenty of positives to share about the device. Windows Central, in particular, highlights how Xbox Cloud Gaming is "absolutely awesome" on it - although Gizmodo isn't as keen on the experience.
We'll leave you to make the decision, but keep in mind that the Meta Quest 3S Xbox Edition is "extremely limited" and won't be made available again after it sells out. You could always pick up a different Meta Quest device as an alternative though, as the Quest 2, Quest 3 and Quest 3S all support the Xbox Cloud Gaming app as well.