Meta, the company that owns Facebook, has started a virtual reality (VR) subscription service in an effort to turn that area of its operations profitable.

According to Meta, subscribers will have access to two new games each month.

The VR division of Instagram’s parent firm lost $4 billion (£3.1 billion) in the first three months of the year.

Technology giant Apple, which last month launched its eagerly awaited mixed-reality headgear, is one of the companies that compete with Meta.

The business said on Monday that its Quest 2, Quest Pro, and future Quest 3 headsets are all compatible with the $7.99 monthly or $59.99 yearly Meta Quest+ service.

Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Meta, announced plans to create a “metaverse” in 2021. This is an online community where users may interact, work, and play games utilising VR headsets.

“Over time, I hope that we are seen as a metaverse company and I want to anchor our work and our identity on what we’re building towards,” Mr Zuckerberg said.

Zuckerberg referred to AI as “the key to unlocking the metaverse” when Meta unveiled several ambitious artificial intelligence projects in February of last year.

The business announced a $5.7 billion profit for the first quarter of this year, beating market estimates.

The company’s Reality Labs segment, which makes VR headsets and other devices, however, recorded a $4 billion net loss for the quarter.

As its first significant hardware launch in nearly a decade, Apple unveiled the Vision Pro mixed-reality headset earlier this month.

The cost of Apple’s headset, which will be made available in the US early next year, is $3,499.

That is a lot more than other headsets that are currently on the market. The cost of a Meta VR headset ranges from $299.99 to $999.99.

(Adapted from BBC.com)