After more than 6 years involved in virtual reality, Iribe leaves the company where he was currently at the head of the PC division.
UPGRADE:
Oculus Spain has contacted us to clarify that Facebook has not canceled the development of a new version of Rift, in fact, they point out that it will be next year when we will be able to know more about the novelties in “product and content” of the PC platform.
Below is the official statement we have received:
We are working on a new version of Rift. You may remember that Mark Zuckerberg pointed out during OC5:” … when we release the next version of Rift – which will not be this year – all Rift content will be compatible with the new version.” Although we’re not ready to talk about the next version of Rift yet, PC virtual reality is still a category we’re investing in. It’s still part of our strategy – we’ll keep working on product and content and you’ll be able to see it next year. In addition, Nate will continue to lead Rift.
ORIGINAL NEWS (22/10/2018):
Brendan Iribe, co-founder and former CEO of Oculus, has announced through a message on Facebook his departure from the company, thus ending more than 6 years since he founded Oculus with Palmer Luckey, Nate Mitchell and Michael Antonov. According to TechCrunch, the reason would be due to the cancellation of the second generation of Rift that he was in charge of, something that indicates that took place last week and that would have definitely caused Iribe to no longer be interested in being part of the future of Oculus.
The TechCruch source also cites that Oculus ‘ vision was not sympathized with Iribe, among other aspects it could be the price set. The cancellation corresponds to the Iribe project, not the future of the Rift platform. Facebook says it will use the advances made on future devices. In addition, Nate Mitchell (in charge of Rift) has also shared via Twitter that the platform is moving forward.
In our last interview with Oculus, Mitchell told us that the second generation was something they were working on, although he also indicated that the current Rift still had a lot to offer. In addition, the same CEO of Facebook shared in the Oculus Connect the three platforms that happened to have after the announcement of Quest, as well as the compatibility of content between future viewers.
Next year Oculus will be betting on the launch of the autonomous Quest, in addition to the new content for Rift that Oculus Studios is promoting, such as Stormland and Defector.
