Xbox Game Pass Starter joins Meta’s Horizon+ as VR gaming competition heats-up

Microsoft and Meta expanded their ongoing partnership by bundling a starter edition of Xbox Game Pass directly into Meta's Horizon+ subscription service.

Meta Platforms and Microsoft confirmed their collaboration on Tuesday, expanding gaming options on Quest virtual reality headsets.

The move deepens both tech giants’ partnership and will give Horizon+ subscribers access to more than 50 Game Pass titles alongside the service’s existing catalog of over 100 virtual reality games.

Meta Horizon+

Zuckerberg founded Meta Horizon+ is a subscription service that gives Quest headset users access to a catalog of VR games, monthly game drops, and exclusive discounts.

The latest offering will feature Game Pass titles including “Fallout 4,” “Fallout 76,” “Grounded,” “DayZ,” and “Overcooked 2.”

Through Xbox Game Pass Starter, Horizon+ subscribers will also receive 10 hours of cloud gaming access per month.

Meta said it will roll out a gamepad emulator in the coming weeks, allowing Quest Touch controllers to function like an Xbox controller.

In April, Meta raised U.S. prices for its Quest virtual reality headsets, citing higher memory chip and component costs.

Earlier this month, Microsoft announced plans to cut about 3,200 jobs in its gaming division as part of a broader restructuring effort aimed at improving returns after years of investment in Xbox, including its acquisition of Activision Blizzard.

The new addition is designed to provide Horizon+ subscribers with greater value while encouraging longer-term engagement with Meta’s hardware ecosystem.

The move also strengthens both companies’ positions in spatial computing and cloud gaming without requiring Microsoft to develop its own virtual reality hardware.