Oculus Quest 2 now delayed until 2021, according to new report

If you were planning on pawning off your Oculus Quest VR headset to try and score some cash ahead of the launch of the Oculus Quest 2, you might want to reconsider: Facebook’s next VR headset could be delayed until 2021 or later.

That's according to industry experts who spoke to Bloomberg who claim that Facebook originally planned on announcing the Oculus Quest 2 at this year’s Oculus Connect. That conference is usually held in late September or early October, but now, due to shipping delays and logistical issues, it may not take place until 2021. 

Facebook's next standalone VR headset, which has been codenamed Del Mar, purportedly offers additional RAM, battery life and a faster processor, as well as some ergonomic improvements like a reduction in size and weight.

AndroidCentral and UploadVR also note that the Quest 2 could feature a redesigned controller that may offer improvements to tracking, haptics and finger sensing, which might help the Quest close the gap to more premium PC-based headsets like the Valve Index.

Oculus Disconnect 

The primary reason for the delay, as you’d expect, comes down to issues around the latest coronavirus pandemic – basically, workers aren't all working and supply lines could be messed up for some time to come. 

That said, the delay could allow Facebook more time to stockpile units ahead of launch to prevent another inventory issue like the one it had with the original Quest, and the additional time could also give developers more time to work with the hardware – both the headset and the new controllers. 

Plus, missing the Holiday 2020 launch window could help the Quest 2 avoid the marketing melee that's likely to manifest around the launch of the Xbox Series X and PS5, arguably the two biggest upcoming gaming hardware releases.

All that said, we love seeing new hardware and are looking forward to Oculus’ next stand-alone headset. The current iteration is one of the best VR headsets of 2020 and only stands to improve once it gets a specs boost in the next generation.

• Need something new to play in VR? Don't miss our roundup of the best VR games

May 06, 2020 at 07:36AM
Nick Pino