It was unveiled on September 25, 2024, and released on October 15, 2024, as part of the third generation of the Meta Quest line, serving as a cheaper option for budget VR users.

[5][6][7] According to a roadmap obtained by The Verge in February 2023, Meta planned to release the Quest 3 in 2023, and another headset codenamed "Ventura" in 2024, which was reportedly described by Oculus VP Mark Rabkin as an "accessible" headset that would "pack the biggest punch we can at the most attractive price point in the VR consumer market".

In October 2023, a Bloomberg News writer reported that Meta had been considering releasing a headset without motion controllers to reduce cost, relying primarily on hand tracking instead.

[12][13] A video posted by Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth detailing features in an upcoming Horizon OS update also included an unknown headset that matched the leaks.

[14] In September 2024, an update to the Oculus desktop software added internal references and images depicting the Quest 3S, listed under the codename "Panther".