And seeing how they’re discontinuing the Rift-S this spring, that makes room for that 2021/2022 CV2 release. And Rift-S was only supposed to be an interim headset, as Vive had already released something new, but Oculus was still a ways away from the 2021/2022 prediction Michael Abrash had made. In July they said that Half Dome was almost ready for primetime…that’s a pc-based headset. That tells us the Rift product line is NOT being discontinued, and suggests the next release will be a hybrid. Where exactly does it say it’s going to ‘discontinue the Rift product line’? All it says, is that FB will no longer pursue a pc-‘only’ based headset, and then it specifically says, “the Rift platform isn’t going anywhere”. Except the bigger danger is, if Facebook continues their current grip on the VR market, this could vastly reduce the number of potential customers for any such AAA experiences, and make it that much harder for any developers to attempt (or get funding for) projects targeting that high end.
#NEW OCULUS VR HEADSET 2021 PC#
I guess if there’s a bright side, this creates a huge opportunity for PC VR companies to step up and provide those AAA level experiences that Facebook seems not to care about. This is exactly the problem with Facebook buying Oculus. But this? Facebook has entirely killed that vision for VR. If anything, Oculus originally seemed like they were constrained by the power of current **PC’s** – they wanted to reach higher, but knew not everyone could afford the latest GPU. They’re content with cutesy cartoon avatars in cutesy limited-poly worlds. They just declared they don’t feel the quality of the visual experience (graphics) is important to what they want VR to do. The fact Facebook is just giving up on ALL of those possibilities speaks volumes. And the type of experiences you can create on a PC today will take decades for mobile to have enough power to provide. Mobile chips will improve, but they’ll always lag compared to how much tech you can pack into a giant PC box. They will either rather support SteamVR or steer away from VR entirely. Link is all nice and good but compared to the native PC headset it is a clear downgrade due to lower framerate, image compression and higher latency.
#NEW OCULUS VR HEADSET 2021 SOFTWARE#
Even though they are saying that the Rift games and support aren’t going anywhere thanks to the Link I am not optimistic about companies actually keeping to build software for the Rift PC platform long term. So I am not surprised that Facebook is basically abandoning the PC. Counterstrike alone was played by 1.3 million people in April. Those growth numbers are cool but how many headsets/users is that in absolute numbers? Steam counts has something under 2 million headsets – worldwide! That is less than the number of players playing the top 3 games in Steam charts (Counterstrike, Dota 2 and Player Unknown Battlegrounds).
Worse, PC is difficult to monetize because you don’t own the platform. It is mostly the few enthusiasts that are buying expensive headsets and gaming computers required for it.Īnd how many headsets can you sell to them? Most of the enthusiasts own one (or more likely several) already.Ĭompare that with $300 headset that doesn’t need a $1500-2000 computer to be tethered to. The problem is that PC VR is still a tiny market. New content announced today at Facebook Connect is focused entirely on Quest. Though the statement paints a picture of new content still in the pipe for the Rift platform, both projects began development several years ago. “In fact, we’ve seen significant growth in PC VR via Oculus Link, and the Rift Platform will continue to grow while offering high-end PC VR experiences like Lone Echo II and Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond well into the future.” That said, the Rift Platform isn’t going anywhere,” the company announced. We’ll no longer pursue PC-only hardware, with sales of Rift S ending in 2021. “We’re going to focus on standalone VR headsets moving forward. While Facebook is pitching Quest 2 as a great PC VR headset (thanks to Oculus Link which allows it to tether to a PC), the company is putting the final nail in the coffin for its dedicated PC VR product line, the Oculus Rift. Though the company says “the Rift platform isn’t going anywhere,” it’s clear the Quest is its primary focus. Capping off dwindling interest in the PC side of the VR spectrum, Facebook said today that it will discontinue the Rift product line early 2021 and will no longer build PC-only VR headsets.
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