Oculus co-founder is leaving Facebook after cancellation of 'Rift 2' headset
Brendan Iribe, the co-founder and former CEO of Oculus, announced today that he is leaving Facebook, TechCrunch has learned.
Iribe is leaving Facebook following some internal shake-ups in the company's virtual reality arm last week that saw the cancellation of the company's next generation "Rift 2" PC-powered virtual reality headset, which he had been leading development of, a source close to the matter told TechCrunch.
Iribe and the Facebook executive team had "fundamentally different views on the future of Oculus that grew deeper over time," and Iribe wasn't interested in a "race to the bottom" in terms of performance, we are told.
[...] The cancellation of the company's next-gen PC-based "Rift 2" virtual reality product showcases how the interests of Facebook's executive leadership have centered on all-in-one headsets that don't require a connection to an external PC or phone. In May, Oculus released the $199 Oculus Go headset and plans to release the $399 Oculus Quest headset sometime next spring.
Update 1: Oculus reconfirms "future version of Rift" amid PC cancellation rumors
Update 2: John Carmack: 'I Intend To Stay At Facebook After Oculus Quest Launch'
Also at CNBC, The Verge, and Gizmodo.
Previously: Founder of Oculus VR, Palmer Luckey, Departs Facebook
Instagram Co-Founders to Step Down From Facebook
Related: Facebook Launches Oculus Go, a $200 Standalone VR Headset
Facebook Announces a New Standalone VR Headset: Oculus Quest; HTC Releases Vive Wireless Adapter
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 24 2018, @07:22AM
This is turning out much like Oracle buying Sun. There was a lot of shilling against the naysayers at the time of both purchases that it was a good thing and the buyer had the resources to keep things going. Now is the long process of "I told you so."