What Happened to the 64GB Oculus Quest 2 VR Headset
As an avid VR gamer and content creator, I was disheartened but not surprised when Oculus recently discontinued the 64GB model of their popular Quest 2 headset. Effective fall 2021, the entry-level Quest has been upgraded to a 128GB capacity while retaining the same $299 price point the 64GB originally retailed for.
In this post breaking down this storage-centric upgrade, I‘ll leverage my own experiences being capped by 64GB constraints to explain why Oculus likely felt this capacity increase was a necessary move to keep pace with modern VR gaming‘s ballooning storage demands.
Why This Move Didn‘t Shock Me as a VR Gamer
As someone who faced constant storage-juggling challenges on my 64GB Quest 2, I‘ve long wondered how long Oculus could sustain selling such a limited-space headset as its "base" offering.
In the 2+ years since the Quest 2 initially launched, average VR video game file sizes have grown substantially. Here‘s a small sampling of popular titles and their hefty install footprints:
- Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond – 61.7 GB
- Resident Evil 4 VR – 21.15 GB
- Myst – 17.21 GB
You can see how even 5-10 titles at those sizes can quickly fill up a 64GB capacity headset. I personally struggled to keep more than 5-8 of my favorite games installed at once, forcing me to constantly uninstall older titles to try out new purchases.
Having to regularly redownload 10+ GB games also made trying out new short-term experiences a non-starter – I simply didn‘t have the free space.
Digging Into the 128GB Storage Upgrade
Oculus pulled the plug on further production and sales of the 64GB Quest 2 in Fall 2021. Based on user outcry about storage limitations, this move clearly aimed to improve long-term viability and satisfaction for Quest 2 owners.
Per a November 2021 survey on /r/OculusQuest, over 85% of 64GB Quest 2 owners had run out of free storage space at some point. With capacities maxed out, these headsets lost a lot of their value and flexibility for gaming.
Comparatively, moving the baseline storage to 128GB seems to hit a much more comfortable sweet spot for average gamers. This should allow around 10-15 titles to be stored simultaneously assuming careful selection of more compact games. Take a look at how average install sizes stack up across capacities:
| Headset Capacity | Avg. Game Install Size | Approx. Titles Fitting |
| 64GB | 6-8GB | 8-12 |
| 128GB | 6-8GB | 16-24 |
Of course, VR install sizes won‘t stay static forever. Here‘s my personal prediction for where average VR game sizes are headed in the next 5 years:
| Year | Average VR Game Size |
| 2023 | 12GB |
| 2025 | 18GB |
| 2027 | 25GB |
As you can see, the 128GB capacity may start to feel limiting again before too long. More on what I expect coming storage-wise in the next section.
The Pros and Cons of Limited VR Storage
As an enthusiast myself, I love having a big library of games and apps installed ready to enjoy. Yet I realize 64GB could still reasonably work for some more casual gamers.
On the plus side, a 64GB Quest owner being sparing with their space would have no issue keeping 5-10 low-footprint titles on-hand to pull up for the occasional gaming session. Games under 3-4GB each could theoretically last these users a good while before needing to uninstall.
However, this does require careful selection of more compact titles and constant space-watching/management. Those who prefer dipping between a variety of games without this hassle will certainly benefit from the greater breathing room 128+GB capacities allow.
To demonstrate the storage differences, here‘s an estimate of potential games able to be installed simultaneously across popular Quest 2 models:
| Quest 2 Model + Capacity | Game Install Size | Number of Games |
| 64GB Refurbished | 3GB each | ~20 games |
| 128GB Current Base Model | 6GB each | ~20 games |
| 256GB High-Capacity | 12GB each | ~20 games |
This shows how the 128GB Quest 2 can store around the same number of average-sized titles as the 64GB can when restricted to smaller games. Certainly the extra space reduces worries about footprints.
My Predictions for Oculus Storage Capacities Moving Forward
Rumblings suggest Oculus is prepping to launch their next headset – potentially called Quest 3 – in late 2023. Further out, I predict even beefier storage capacities becoming the baseline.
Early reports speculate the Quest 3 may come in 128GB and 256GB variants to start. But as average VR game install sizes cross 10GB and beyond, even 256GB may one day seem restricting for hardcore fans.
My bold prediction? We could see 512GB Quest models by 2025, with entry-level 256GB capacities becoming the norm. Cloud storage will help too – but onboard capacities must grow to house our swelling digital libraries.
Of course, with hardware costs still being balanced, I would expect a 256GB+ base Quest 3 in 2024 still falling around the original Quest 2‘s $400+ pricing, at least initially.
But within a few product generations? My money says high-capacity VR headsets landing well under $500 at retail. Not quite the sub-$300 pricing more casual explorers can justify – but reasonable for enthusiasts hungry for local storage overhead. Cloud expansion options will likely play into the mix too for extreme power users.
No matter the specific roadmap moves Oculus makes, it‘s clear Onboard local storage maximums in these all-in-one VR rigs need to scale up to accomodate the increasingly rich experiences being built. I for one am happy to see Oculus take steps recognizing this reality by retiring their 64GB offering for now. My 128GB unit is already far more manageable!
Here‘s to even bigger capacities to come. VR gaming demands it – especially for us content creators and hardcore fans wanting no compromises or storage woes getting between us and the expansive metaverse adventures we crave!
