26th March 2014

Oculus VR acquired by Facebook

Oculus VR – the developer of a consumer virtual reality headset planned for 2015 – has been purchased by Facebook for $2 billion.

Following the demonstration of a prototype at E3, the Oculus Rift made headlines in 2012, when a Kickstarter campaign was launched to further develop the product. Within four hours, it had achieved its target of $250,000 and in 36 hours, the campaign surpassed $1 million, eventually securing $2.4 million in funding. Prominent figures from the games industry publicly endorsed the project – including John Carmack, co-founder of Id Software; Gabe Newell, the co-founder of Valve; and Cliff Bleszinski, design director at Epic Games.

With an extremely wide field of view, high resolution display, and ultra-low latency head tracking, the Rift could provide a truly immersive experience, allowing gamers to step inside their favourite games and explore new worlds like never before. Previous attempts to create VR either lacked the features required for believable immersion, or were far too expensive ($20,000+) and reserved for the military or scientific community. The Rift promised to change all that, with a revolutionary new product designed to maximise immersion and comfort, at a price everyone could afford.

The first "dev kit" began shipping in March 2013, for developers to integrate the device into their games. A 1080p version was demonstrated in June 2013 and the Omni treadmill device was announced in the same month, providing an even greater level of realism and interaction for players. At the Consumer Electronics Show in January 2014, an updated prototype was unveiled with a special low-persistence of vision OLED display; its new motion tracking system could detect actions like crouching or leaning, to alleviate sickness experienced by some users.

Last week, Oculus VR announced the much-anticipated second development kit (DK2), featuring several improvements over the first – including a higher-resolution low-persistence OLED display, higher refresh rate, head positional tracking, detachable cable and removal of the external control box.

Now a sudden and rather unexpected development has occurred, with Facebook purchasing the company for $2 billion according to press release and personal statement by its founder Mark Zuckerberg. The social media giant intends to expand the device's potential beyond just gaming:

"We're going to make Oculus a platform for many other experiences. Imagine enjoying a court side seat at a game, studying in a classroom of students and teachers all over the world or consulting with a doctor face-to-face just by putting on goggles in your home. This is really a new communication platform. By feeling truly present, you can share unbounded spaces and experiences with the people in your life. Imagine sharing not just moments with your friends online, but entire experiences and adventures."

"We are excited to work with Mark and the Facebook team to deliver the very best virtual reality platform in the world," said Brendan Iribe, co-founder and CEO of Oculus. "We believe virtual reality will be heavily defined by social experiences that connect people in magical, new ways. It is a transformative and disruptive technology, that enables the world to experience the impossible, and it's only just the beginning."

Reactions in the last 24 hours have been negative, however. Facebook shares fell by 6% following the announcement, while the Kickstarter page is being flooded with angry comments. The Oculus founder, 21-year old Palmer Luckey, attempted to explain his decision with a post on Reddit, but has received a similar hostile response. Markus Persson, creator of the popular game Minecraft, states on Twitter: "We were in talks about maybe bringing a version of Minecraft to Oculus. I just cancelled that deal. Facebook creeps me out."

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