The Oculus Rift is the virtual reality headset that kicked modern VR gaming, but it'll soon go the way of the Dodo. Facebook announced that the Rift is being discontinued in favor of the Oculus Quest.
Today's announcement about the Oculus Quest 2 promised some pretty impressive tech. This new Oculus VR headset will be lighter, faster, and cheaper, letting people hop into a VR gaming experience starting at just $299.
The next Oculus headset sounds like a pretty sweet deal, but it comes with a serious downside: Facebook is killing the Oculus Rift line of products.
Why is the Oculus Rift Being Discontinued?
The core reason the Oculus Rift is being discontinued is pretty straightforward — the Oculus Quest 2 renders the old Rift headset completely redundant in Facebook's opinion.
"We’re going to focus on standalone VR headsets moving forward," read a blog post on the Oculus website. "We’ll no longer pursue PC-only hardware, with sales of Rift S ending in 2021. That said, the Rift Platform isn’t going anywhere. 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 same blog post notes one key feature of the Oculus Quest that makes it good for PC gaming: the Oculus Link. This system will allow you to connect an Oculus Quest 2 directly to your PC, bypassing the need for a separate PC-only headset entirely.
If you want to get your hands on a Rift, you'll still have some time. Sales of the Oculus Rift S will be ending in 2021, so this is your last best chance to get this PC-centric headset from Oculus.
What do you think about the Oculus Rift being discontinued? Are you disappointed to see Facebook moving away from a PC-centric model? Let us know in the comments below!
