This production shutdown ends Facebook’s line of PC VR headsets. An expected turnaround, but significant.
It’s official, the Oculus Rift range is extinct. This is not surprising, because this model did not correspond to the general public and autonomous aspect of the VR that the American firm envisages.
The helmet was marketed in 2019 at an affordable price compared to its competitors (around € 399), but it did not perform well. It was intended to succeed the famous Oculus Rift and was designed to work with a PC.
Facebook had already aborted the sale of the Rift 2 in 2018. A decision that recalls this new production stop. The firm prefers to focus on the range of Oculus Quest headsets, more accessible and “general public”. The Oculus Quest 2, released this year and marketed from € 299, also allows you to play on PC, but above all, independently. That is to say, without anything other than the headset and its controllers. Facebook intends to occupy a casual place against more efficient competitors, but more niche and expensive.
The Oculus Quest 2, released in September 2020, has exceeded in five months all sales of Oculus headsets combined so far. This observation explains Facebook’s desire not to renew the Rift range and to allocate more capacity to the development of autonomous headsets that have a greater commercial and use reach. Moreover, nearly 20% of Facebook employees work in the field of virtual or augmented reality.
Facebook had already launched a 100% autonomous and inexpensive headset in 2019, the Oculus GO. But the features it offers were reduced. If the Quest 2 still runs on PC, it’s a safe bet that similar future models will be fully stand-alone.
Thanks to its computer-independent headsets, Facebook also intends to impose its own ecosystem on its users. It should still be remembered that a large part of the firm’s income comes from advertisers. Cannot connect to a Quest headset without connecting your Facebook account to it. Consequently, the social network will have access to personal data on your uses.
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