Across the similar time Meta hiked up the worth on its Quest 2 headsets, it additionally introduced that it’s ending Quest 1 assist for Inhabitants One, a preferred battle-royale shooter set in digital actuality. BigBox VR, the Meta-owned developer behind the sport, shared the replace in a publish on its weblog, noting that Quest 1 owners will not be capable of launch or play the sport beginning October thirty first, 2022.

BigBox VR says the shutdown is obligatory so it may well give attention to creating new experiences “that may push the boundaries of multiplayer VR.” Quest 1 gamers can nonetheless technically play the sport if they’ve a VR-ready PC, nonetheless. The sport helps (*1*)cross-buy, which makes the PC model accessible by way of Air Hyperlink and Oculus Hyperlink. This could let customers play Inhabitants: One by connecting their Quest 1 headset to their pc (whether or not wirelessly or with a wired connection). Gamers utilizing the Quest 2, Oculus Rift, and Oculus Rift S will nonetheless have entry to the sport.

Whereas Meta’s providing Quest 1 owners a refund for Inhabitants: One, there’s a catch: you needed to have bought the sport from the Quest Retailer throughout the previous six months. The coverage appears sort of unfair for a sport that launched on the Quest practically two years in the past and can possible depart a quantity of gamers with a sport that they’ll’t even play (until, of course, they improve to the now-$399 Quest 2 or use Air / Oculus Hyperlink, which requires an expensive VR-ready PC).

Inhabitants: One’s shutdown additionally raises the query of whether or not different builders will quickly ax assist for the three-year-old Quest 1. Meta spokesperson Caiti Sullivan stated in a press release to The Verge that the corporate’s at the moment “figuring out the small print of an ecosystem-wide end-of-support course of,” and that “different builders who select to finish assist for apps on Quest 1 shall be in a position to take action.” Meta declined to remark additional when requested whether or not some other games will finish Quest 1 assist within the close to future.

I do know that games can’t assist each older system ceaselessly, but doling out a worth enhance, together with an announcement that may quickly depart Quest 1 owners with one much less sport to play, is like a double punch to the intestine. As my colleague Jay Peters factors out, Meta might be elevating the worth of the Quest 2, and even perhaps pushing customers in direction of it, to stem the the losses its digital actuality arm reported in each the first and second quarter of 2022.

Replace August seventh, 2:27PM ET: Up to date so as to add that Inhabitants: One helps cross-buy.