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When the Meta Quest 3S launched, it was bundled with a true system-seller, a VR Batman game. I must admit, I was hesitant at first. Something about the thought of slowly gliding through a cityscape in fully immersive VR gave me motion sickness without even putting the headset on my face. But the game was received well, and the Quest 3S arrived in the best VR headset arena all the better for it.
But here's the strange bit. The Batman Arkham Shadow bundle was really only meant to be a launch bundle. Meta's previous launch bundle, the Asgard's Wrath 2 bundle for the full-fat Quest 3, only really lasted a year, but somehow, you can still find the Arkham Shadow bundle on the shelves.
If memory serves, I remember seeing a notice from Meta last year that, despite an extension, the Arkham Shadow bundle would be discontinued. In fairness, it is harder to find these days, and if you opt for the 128GB model of the Quest 3S at Best Buy, you'll need to pay more than its $299 MSRP. To me, that signals that it's probably not in production anymore, and retailers are just trying to shift the last of their stock.
For that reason, I'm surprised to see the 256GB model of the Arkham bundle below the $399 mark. Surely, if it's getting rarer, the price might start to go up? If I were you, and I was still desperate to kick off my VR game collection, I'd grab this offer from Best Buy while I could.
The truth is, we really never know how "limited" a limited edition from Meta is going to be. Remember the launch Meta Quest 3? The 128GB model that now no longer exists because it was discontinued after the launch of the Quest 3S? Or how about the Xbox Edition of the Quest 3S, which is all but gone now, and doesn't show any signs of returning despite being a pretty reasonable deal.
Where I'd draw the line with the remaining Arkham Shadow bundled Quest 3S headsets is their price. I wouldn't personally recommend paying more than MSRP for the bundle, because the whole idea is that you're getting the game at no extra cost. If you need to pay anything extra on top of the headset for the game, maybe question it. The game can still be bought on the Quest store, so before you buy, definitely check to see whether you can get the bundle, or the headset and the game separately for cheaper.
Either way, the Quest 3S is an excellent route into VR gaming. It's maybe one of the best (and one of the only) budget VR headsets ever made. For its more affordable price tag over the 512GB of the Meta Quest 3, you get the same processor and many of the same great specs and features, and of course, the same library of apps and games. If you've already owned a VR headset, I'd be more inclined to recommend that you opt for the Pancake lens-having Quest 3, since you'll appreciate the increased area of focus.
Either that, or wait and see what price the Steam Frame will cost, so you can know for sure that you're getting the correct headset going forward for your budget.
You could also take a look at the best Meta Quest accessories, and more of the best Meta Quest deals and bundles.
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