Meta is axing Quest 1 help for Beat Saber, a well-liked rhythm recreation the place gamers use glowing sabers to slice musical blocks.
Introduced in an FAQ on the official Beat Saber web site, the Beat Saber builders Beat Video games revealed that it’ll axe help for Quest 1 on November 2, 2024. The FAQ web page notes that Quest 1 homeowners can nonetheless play Beat Saber, however the Multiplayer and Leaderboard performance “is likely to be phased out sooner or later.” It’s going to additionally cease releasing updates and supply buyer help for Quest 1 units.
“As we proceed growing Beat Saber, our objective is to lift the bar of what is doable,” FAQ reads. “To focus our efforts in the correct course, we’ll not help Meta Quest 1 units as of November 2, 2024.”
Cross-buy help is out there to those that stay within the Meta VR {hardware} ecosystem. As proven within the screenshot above, Quest 1 homeowners’ copies of Beat Saber and Music Packs are tied to the account and transferrable to any Quest and Rift platform. Those that don’t wish to improve their VR headset to a brand new one, such because the Quest 3, can entry the PC model of Beat Saber via their Quest 1 through the Meta Quest Link.
Beat Saber was initially launched in early entry in 2018 with a full-release firm roughly a 12 months later for PSVR, PC VR, and Meta Quest. Beat Saber is commonly considered one of many must-have video games for VR headset homeowners, and its reputation prompted Meta to accumulate Beat Video games in late 2019. Beat Saber has additionally been identified for its DLC, working with artists comparable to Inexperienced Day, The Weeknd, and Daft Punk to launch music packs that includes a choice of the artist’s songs.
“Beat Saber ought to be the go-to for introducing individuals to the potential of VR gaming. It is easy to be taught, rattling close to inconceivable to grasp rhythm gameplay is excellent,” my colleague Dan Stapleton wrote in his 9.5/10 evaluation of Beat Saber.
The announcement isn’t any shock to Quest 1 homeowners, as over the past a number of years, Meta has been glacially ending help for its authentic standalone VR headset. In July 2022, Meta subsidiary BigBox VR introduced it ended Quest 1 support for its critically acclaimed battle royale shooter Popular: One. Meta additionally introduced in January 2023 that it was ending help for Quest 1, shutting down functionalities comparable to the power to create or be a part of an element on the system.
Though Meta has been slowly ending help for Quest 1, help for the getting old Quest 2 continues to be sturdy. Meta just lately introduced that it was completely dropping the value of the Quest 2 128GB mannequin to $199. The corporate has repeatedly reiterated that it’ll proceed to help Quest 2 regardless of Quest 3 already being out. Nonetheless, the corporate has been cagey about offering a agency timeline for how lengthy it can proceed supporting the virtually four-year-old headset.
Taylor is a Reporter at IGN. You possibly can comply with her on Twitter @TayNixster.