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{{short description|Virtual reality headsets by Oculus VR}}
{{Infobox
{{about|the product line|the 2016 headset|Oculus Rift CV1|the 2019 headset|Oculus Rift S}}
| image = ]
{{Infobox brand
| caption = ] using the developer kit version of the Oculus Rift (with separate headphones)
| name = Oculus Rift
| label1 = Type
| logo =
| data1 = ]
| logo_upright =
| label2 = Invention date
| data2 = 2012 | logo_alt =
| logo_caption =
| label3 = Inventor(s)
| image = Oculus-Rift-CV1-Headset-Front.jpg
| data3 = Palmer Luckey (founder)<ref name="BBC" />
| image_upright =
| label4 = Manufacturer
| data4 = Oculus VR, Inc. | alt =
| label5 = Cost | caption =
| producttype = ] (PC, tethered)
| data5 = Developer kit: $300,<ref name="pennyarcade" /> Consumer version: Unknown (rumored <$300) <ref name="200dollar" />
| currentowner = ]
| label6 = Resolution
| producedby =
| data6 = Developer kit: 1280×800 (640×800 per eye),<ref name="oculuskickstarter" /> Consumer version: ≥1920×1080
| country = ]
| label7 = Horizontal FOV
| introduced = April 2012
| data7 = Developer kit: &gt; 90°,<ref name="oculuskickstarter" /> Consumer version: TBA
| label8 = Diagonal FOV | discontinued = April 2021
| related =
| data8 = Developer kit: &gt; 110°,<ref name="oculuskickstarter" /> Consumer version: TBA
| markets = Worldwide
| label9 = Head Tracking
| previousowners =
| data9 = Developer kit: 1000&nbsp;Hz absolute 3DOF orientation (gyr/acc/mag), and position tracking. Consumer version: TBA, positional tracking confirmed.
| trademarkregistrations =
| label10 = Weight
| ambassadors =
| data11 = Developer kit: ≈ 330&nbsp;g
| tagline = Step into the Game
| label11 = Platform
| website = {{URL|oculusvr.com}}
| data11 = ], ], ],<ref name="oculuskickstarter" /> ]
| module = <!-- or: misc -->
| label12 = Connection
| module1 = <!-- or: misc1 -->
| data12 = Developer kit: ]/] and ],<ref name="oculuskickstarter" /> Consumer version: TBA
| label13 = Website
| data13 =
*
*
}} }}


'''Oculus Rift''' is a discontinued line of ]s developed and manufactured by ], a virtual reality company founded by ] that is widely credited with reviving the ] industry. It was the first virtual reality headset to provide a realistic experience at an accessible price, utilizing novel technology to increase quality and reduce cost by orders of magnitude compared to earlier systems.<ref name="Rubin">{{Cite magazine |last=Rubin |first=Peter |title=The Inside Story of Oculus Rift and How Virtual Reality Became Reality |language=en-US |magazine=Wired |url=https://www.wired.com/2014/05/oculus-rift-4/ |access-date=2023-05-29 |issn=1059-1028}}</ref> The first headset in the line was the Oculus Rift DK1, released on March 28, 2013.<ref name=":0" /> The last was the ], discontinued in April 2021.
The '''Oculus Rift''' is an upcoming ] ]. It is being developed by Oculus VR, which has raised ] $91 million, of which $2.4 million was raised with ] via ].<ref name="oculuskickstarter" /> The company was founded by Palmer Luckey and ] co-founders Brendan Iribe and Michael Antonov,<ref>{{cite news|last=Hollister|first=Sean|title=Under new management, Oculus intends to commercialize the virtual reality headset|url=http://www.theverge.com/2012/8/16/3246032/under-new-management-oculus-intends-to-commercialize-the-virtual/|accessdate=16 August 2012|newspaper=theverge|date=16 August 2012}}</ref> as well as Nate Mitchell. ] co-founder ] was later hired as its ].<ref>{{cite news|last=Gilbert|first=Ben|title=Oculus Rift hires Doom co-creator John Carmack as Chief Technology Officer|url=http://www.engadget.com/2013/08/07/oculus-rift-john-carmack-cto/|accessdate=7 August 2013|newspaper=engadget|date=7 August 2013}}</ref>


The Rift went through various pre-production models prior to the release of the Oculus Rift CV1, the first Oculus Rift intended for use by the general public. Two of these, the DK1 in early-2013 and DK2 in mid-2014, were intended to provide content developers with a ] platform to create content for the Rift's eventual consumer release. However, both development kits were purchased by many gaming enthusiasts who wished to get an early preview of the technology.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.vrfocus.com/2015/02/iribe-100000-oculus-rift-dk2s-shipped/|title=Iribe: Over 100,000 Oculus Rift DK2s Shipped|date=February 16, 2015|publisher=VRFocus|access-date=September 7, 2015|archive-date=October 20, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201020084346/https://www.vrfocus.com/2015/02/iribe-100000-oculus-rift-dk2s-shipped/|url-status=dead}}</ref> The Rift saw its official consumer release in March 2016 with the ], and was eventually replaced in March 2019 by the ].<ref name="rift-phaseout-tested" /><ref name="rift-phaseout-theverge" /><ref name="rift-phaseout-oculusblog" /> The Oculus Rift software library is still compatible with its successor, the ].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Oculus Quest 2 vs. Oculus Rift S: Which VR Headset Should You Buy? |url=https://www.pcmag.com/comparisons/oculus-quest-vs-oculus-rift-s-which-vr-headset-should-you-buy |access-date=2023-05-29 |website=PCMAG |language=en}}</ref>
On December 12, 2013, ] joined the company's board when his firm ] led the $75 million ] ].<ref>{{cite news|last=Takahashi|first=Dean|title=Oculus VR raises $75M round led by web browser inventor Marc Andreessen’s VC firm to launch virtual-reality goggles|url=http://venturebeat.com/2013/12/12/oculus-vr-raises-75m-from-andreessen-horowitz-to-create-consumer-version-of-its-virtual-reality-goggles/|accessdate=12 December 2013|newspaper=venturebeat|date=12 December 2013}}</ref>


==History==
The consumer version of the product is expected (but not confirmed) to become available in late 2014 or early 2015.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.incgamers.com/2013/10/oculus-rift-second-dev-kit-confirmed/ |title=Oculus Rift second dev kit confirmed – Consumer version late 2014}}</ref>


===Initial prototypes===
==Development==
As a ] designer at the University of Southern California Institute for Creative Technologies, Palmer Luckey earned a reputation for having the largest personal collection of HMDs in the world, and is a longtime moderator in Meant to be Seen (MTBS) 3D's discussion forums.{{citation needed|date=December 2012}}


Through Meant to be Seen (MTBS)'s virtual reality and 3D discussion forums, ], the founder of Oculus and longtime MTBS discussion forum moderator, that was both more effective than what was then on the market, and inexpensive for gamers.
Through MTBS' forums,<ref name="AutoFU-2"/> Palmer developed the idea of creating a new head mounted display that was both more effective than what is currently on the market, and inexpensive for gamers. Coincidentally, John Carmack had been doing his own research and happened upon Palmer's developments. After sampling an early unit, Carmack favored Luckey's prototype and just before the 2012 ], id Software announced that their future updated version of '']'', which would be known as '']'', would be compatible with head-mounted display units.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ign.com/videos/2012/06/06/ign-reacts-john-carmack-makes-virtual-reality-actually-cool-with-new-head-tracking-device-e3-2012/ |title=Carmack Makes Virtual Reality Actually Cool}}</ref> During the convention, Carmack introduced a duct taped head-mounted display based on Palmer's Oculus Rift prototype, which ran Carmack's own software. The unit featured a high speed ] and a {{convert|5.6|in|cm|adj=on}} ] display, visible via dual lenses that were positioned over the eyes to provide a 90 degrees horizontal and 110 degrees vertical ] 3D perspective.<ref name="eurogamere3" /><ref name="g4tvrosenberg" />


The first prototype of the Oculus Rift was created in 2011 by ] (then 18 years old) in his parents’ garage in ].<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.wired.com/2014/05/oculus-rift-4/ |title=The Inside Story of Oculus Rift and How Virtual Reality Became Reality|magazine=Wired|date=2014-05-20}}</ref> Luckey had been building his own virtual reality headsets since 2009, but the 2011 prototype was the first to incorporate key technologies like geometric pre-distortion and a wide ] ] that would come to define all of his subsequent designs.<ref name="Rubin"/> Luckey decided to drop out of college and start ], intending to turn his prototype into the world's first mass-produced virtual reality headset.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Luckey |first=Palmer |date=2022-04-15 |title=10 Years of Oculus |url=https://palmerluckey.com/10-years-of-oculus/ |access-date=2023-05-29 |website=The Blog of Palmer Luckey |language=en-US}}</ref>
===Kickstarter campaign===
Following the demonstration of the Oculus Rift prototype at E3 in June 2012, on 1 August 2012 the company announced a ] campaign to further develop the product. Within four hours of the announcement, Oculus secured its intended amount of ]$250,000,<ref name="BBC" /><ref name="eurogamerkickstarter" /> and in less than 36 hours, the campaign had surpassed $1 million in funding,<ref name="AutoFU-4"/> eventually ending with $2,437,429.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.geeky-gadgets.com/oculus-rift-virtual-reality-headset-developer-kits-now-available-to-pre-order-video-27-09-2012/ |title=Oculus Rift Virtual Reality Headset Developer Kits Now Available To Pre-Order |publisher=Geeky Gadgets |date=2012-09-27 |accessdate=2013-09-09}}</ref>


Noted videogame pioneer ], the founder of ], had been doing extensive research into virtual reality technology, leading Luckey to lend him a prototype Oculus Rift. Carmack wrote a public review of the prototype calling it "by far the most immersive ]" he had used, noting that the targeted price would also make it the cheapest.<ref>{{Cite web |title=A day with an Oculus Rift - Meant to be Seen |url=https://www.mtbs3d.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=14967 |access-date=2023-05-29 |website=www.mtbs3d.com}}</ref> At the 2012 ], Id Software gave demonstrations of their games running on the prototype Oculus Rift and announced that their newest game, '']'' '']'', would be compatible with the Oculus Rift.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ign.com/videos/2012/06/06/ign-reacts-john-carmack-makes-virtual-reality-actually-cool-with-new-head-tracking-device-e3-2012/|title=Carmack Makes Virtual Reality Actually Cool|date=6 June 2012 }}</ref> These early prototypes used a high speed ], 5.6" ], and wide-FOV optics to project a 90 degrees horizontal and 110 degrees vertical ] 3D view onto the retina of the user.<ref name="eurogamere3" /><ref name="g4tvrosenberg" />]
===Developer version===
The Oculus developer kit was an initial version financed by a ] campaign. The campaign sought to get the initial Oculus Rift into the hands of developers to begin integration of the device into their games.<ref name="autogenerated2"/>


=== Development Kit 1 ===
In August 2012, Oculus announced that the "dev kit" version of the Oculus Rift would be given as a reward to backers who pledged $300 or more on Kickstarter, with an expected shipping date set of December 2012. There was also a limited run of 100 unassembled Rift prototype kits for pledges over $275 that would ship a month earlier. Both versions were intended to include '']'', but Rift support in the game was not ready, so to make up for it they included a choice of discount vouchers for either Steam or the Oculus store.<ref name="oculuskickstarter" /> Dev kit preorders were made available for $300 on their website starting on 26 September 2012. These kits sold at a rate of 4–5 per minute for the first day, before slowing down throughout the week.<ref name="AutoFU-5"/> These preorders were expected to start being delivered in "May 2013", but started arriving around March 30. Currently Oculus is accepting new developer kit orders on their website with a ship date in 3-5 business days.<ref name="Oculus Developer Kit Order" />
]


Two months after being formed as a company, Palmer's ] launched a ] ] campaign on August 1, 2012, for their virtual reality headset, named the Rift. The main purpose of the Kickstarter was to get an Oculus Rift prototype—now referred to as DK1 (Development Kit 1)—into the hands of developers to begin integration of the device into their games.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://techcrunch.com/2014/03/26/a-brief-history-of-oculus/ |title=A Brief History Of Oculus |publisher=TechCrunch |date=March 26, 2014 |access-date=July 17, 2015}}</ref><ref name="auto">Gleasure, R., & Feller, J. (2016). A Rift in the Ground: Theorizing the Evolution of Anchor Values in Crowdfunding Communities through the Oculus Rift Case Study. Journal of the Association for Information Systems, 17(10), 708-736.</ref> The DK1 was given as a reward to backers who pledged $300 or more on Kickstarter, and was later sold publicly for $300 on their website. These kits sold at a rate of 4–5 per minute for the first day, before slowing down throughout the week.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.oculus.com/blog/update-on-developer-kit-technology-shipping-details/|title=Update on Developer Kit Technology, Shipping Details|date=November 28, 2012|publisher=Oculus VR|access-date=March 20, 2014}}</ref><ref name="AutoFU-5"/>
<gallery mode="packed">
File:Oculus Rift - Developer Version - Front.jpg
File:Oculus Rift - Developer Version - Back.jpg
File:Oculus Rift - Developer Version - Control Box.jpg
File:Oculus Rift - Developer Version - Back and Control Box.jpg
</gallery>


The Rift DK1 was released on March 29, 2013,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1523379957/oculus-rift-step-into-the-game|title=Oculus Rift: Step Into the Game|work=Kickstarter.com|access-date=11 March 2017}}</ref> and uses a {{convert|7|in|cm|adj=on}} screen with a significantly faster pixel switching speed than the original prototype, reducing latency and motion blur when turning one's head quickly. The pixel fill is also better, reducing the ] and making individual pixels less noticeable. The ] is brighter and the color depth is 24 bits per pixel.
===Consumer version===
A consumer-oriented version of the Rift is in development, which will be aimed at a general market and feature improved components. Improved head tracking, positional tracking, 1080p resolution,<ref>{{cite web|title=The Oculus Rift Now Does 1080p|url=http://kotaku.com/the-oculus-rift-now-does-1080p-513280558|publisher=Kotaku|accessdate=14 June 2013}}</ref> and wireless operation are some of the features under consideration for the consumer Rift.<ref name="AutoFU-6"/> In June 2013, a 1080p version of the Rift was shown at E3.<ref>{{cite web|title=E3 2013: New 1080p Oculus Rift with Unreal Engine 4|url=http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/06/11/hands-on-new-1080p-oculus-rift-with-unreal-engine-4|work=IGN|accessdate=2013-11-01}}</ref> At ] in January 2014, an updated prototype codenamed "Crystal Cove" was unveiled, which uses a special low-] ] display, and includes a new motion tracking system that uses an external camera which tracks infrared dots located on the headset. The new motion tracking system would allow the system to detect actions such as leaning or crouching, which should help alleviate sickness experienced by users when the software didn't respond to these actions.<ref name=verge-crystalcove>{{cite web|title=Oculus reveals Crystal Cove prototype virtual reality headset with intriguing OLED display|url=http://www.theverge.com/2014/1/7/5284918/oculus-rift-crystal-cove|work=The Verge|accessdate=7 January 2014}}</ref>


The 7-inch screen also makes the stereoscopic 3D no longer 100% overlapping, the left eye seeing extra area to the left and the right eye seeing extra area to the right, in which there is no 3D depth perception. The field of view (FOV) is more than 90 degrees horizontal (110 degrees diagonal), which is more than double the FOV of previous VR devices from other companies, and is the primary strength of the device. The resolution is 1280×800 (16:10 aspect ratio), which leads to an effective of 640×800 per eye (4:5 aspect ratio). However, since the device does not feature a 100% overlap between the eyes, the combined horizontal resolution is effectively greater than 640. The image for each eye is shown in the panel as a ] image that is then corrected by ] created by lenses in the headset, generating a spherical-mapped image for each eye.
==Hardware==
The first prototype of the device used a 5.6 inch screen, but after the unexpectedly successful Kickstarter, Oculus determined that the panel was not available in sufficient quantities, so they changed their design to use a new 7 inch screen, which makes the Rift developer kit somewhat bulkier than the first prototypes.


Initial prototypes used a ] ] head tracker that is normally 125&nbsp;Hz, with a special firmware requested by John Carmack that makes it run at 250&nbsp;Hz, tracker latency being vital due to the dependency of virtual reality's realism on response time. The latest version includes Oculus's new 1000&nbsp;Hz Adjacent Reality Tracker, which aims to provide much lower latency tracking than almost any other tracker. It uses a combination of three-axis ], ]s, and ]s, which make it capable of absolute (relative to Earth) head orientation tracking without drift.<ref name="update11" />
The new panel's pixel switching time is significantly lower, reducing latency and motion blur when turning one's head quickly. The pixel fill is also better, reducing the ] and making individual pixels less noticeable. The LCD is brighter and the color depth is 24 bits per pixel. The 7 inch screen also makes the stereoscopic 3D no longer 100% overlapping, the left eye seeing extra area to the left and the right eye seeing extra area to the right. This mimics normal human vision, which does not 100% overlap either, although the overlap area is smaller on the Rift than in real life.


The Development Kit 1 also included interchangeable lenses that aim to allow for simple ].
The field of view is more than 90 degrees horizontal (110 degrees diagonal), which is more than double the FOV of most competing devices, and is the primary strength of the device. It is intended to almost fill the wearer's entire field of view, and the real world is completely blocked out, to create a strong sense of immersion. The resolution is 1280×800 (16:10 aspect ratio), which leads to an effective of 640×800 per eye (4:5 aspect ratio). However, since the Rift does not feature a 100% overlap between the eyes, the combined horizontal resolution is effectively greater than 640. The image for each eye is shown in the panel as a ] image that is then corrected by ] created by lenses in the headset, generating a spherical-mapped image for each eye. The panel's resolution is expected to be upgraded to at least 1920×1080 for the final consumer version.


The entire source for the Rift DK1 was released to the public in September 2014, including the firmware, schematics, and mechanicals for the device. The firmware is released under a ], while the schematics and mechanicals are released under a ].<ref>{{cite web|title=OculusVR/RiftDK1|url=https://github.com/OculusVR/RiftDK1|website=github.com|access-date=29 September 2014}}</ref>
Initial prototypes used a ] ] head tracker that is normally 125&nbsp;Hz, with a special firmware that John Carmack requested which makes it run at 250&nbsp;Hz, tracker latency being vital due to the dependency of virtual reality's realism on response time.
The latest version includes Oculus' new 1000&nbsp;Hz Adjacent Reality Tracker that will allow for much lower latency tracking than almost any other tracker. It uses a combination of 3-axis ], ]s, and ]s, which make it capable of absolute (relative to earth) head orientation tracking without drift.<ref name="update11" /><ref name="AutoFU-1"/>


===HD and Crystal Cove prototypes===
The weight of the headset is approximately 379&nbsp;g,<ref name="VergeTour"/> (an increase of about 90 grams due to the increased screen size) and it does not include headphones.
In June 2013, a prototype of the Rift that used a 1080p LCD panel was shown at ]. This step forwards to twice the number of pixels as DK1 significantly reduced the ] and made objects in the virtual world more clear, especially at a distance. The poor resolution had been the main criticism of the DK1.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2013/06/11/hands-on-new-1080p-oculus-rift-with-unreal-engine-4|title=E3 2013: New 1080p Oculus Rift with Unreal Engine 4|date=2013-06-11|work=IGN|access-date=November 1, 2013}}</ref>


This HD prototype is the only prototype of the Rift shown to the public which did not turn into a publicly available developer kit.
The headset has a dial on each side that can be turned with a screwdriver which allows adjusting each display to be moved closer or further away from the eyes. The development kit also includes interchangeable lenses that will allow for simple ]. Adjustment for the ] is done in software, although given its large exit pupil, this should not be a severe issue with the Rift.{{citation needed|date=November 2013}}


In January 2014, an updated prototype codenamed "Crystal Cove" was unveiled at ], which used a special low-] ] display as well as a new motion tracking system that utilized an external camera to track infrared dots located on the headset. The new motion tracking system would allow the system to detect actions such as leaning or crouching, which was claimed to help alleviate sickness experienced by users when the software did not respond to these actions.<ref name=verge-crystalcove>{{cite web|title=Oculus reveals Crystal Cove prototype virtual reality headset with intriguing OLED display|url=https://www.theverge.com/2014/1/7/5284918/oculus-rift-crystal-cove|work=The Verge|access-date=January 7, 2014|date=2014-01-07}}</ref>
The developer version of the Rift has ] and ] input on the control box, and comes with one HDMI cable, and a DVI to HDMI adapter.


===Development Kit 2===
A ] interface is used for sending tracking data to the host machine. It also comes with a power adapter that must be used to connect the control box to a power outlet.
]
Oculus began shipping Development Kit 2 (DK2) in July 2014.<ref name="Announcing the Oculus Rift Development Kit 2 (DK2)" /> This is a small refinement of the "Crystal Cove" prototype, featuring several key improvements over the first development kit, such as having a higher-resolution (960×1080 per eye) low-persistence OLED display, higher refresh rate of 75{{nbsp}}Hz,<ref>{{Cite web |date=2014-08-15 |title=Oculus VR Rift DK2 Unboxing #throughglass and First Impressions |url=https://www.tweaktown.com/articles/6583/oculus-vr-rift-dk2-unboxing-throughglass-and-first-impressions/index.html |access-date=2022-10-21 |website=TweakTown |language=en-US}}</ref> positional tracking, a detachable cable, and the omission of the need for the external control box.

A teardown of DK2 revealed that it incorporates a modified ] smartphone display, including the front panel from the device itself.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theverge.com/2014/7/31/5956589/new-oculus-dev-kit-uses-front-of-galaxy-note-3-for-display|title=New Oculus Rift dev kit uses the front of a Galaxy Note 3 as its screen|last=Welch|first=Chris|date=2014-07-31|website=The Verge|access-date=2019-03-21}}</ref>

In February 2015, Oculus announced that over 100,000 DK2 units had been shipped up until that point.<ref>{{cite web|url = https://twitter.com/brendaniribe/status/565888922362728449|title = Brendan Iribe on Twitter: "Over 100k DK2's and tons of Gear VR's in the wild -- can't wait to see what the community creates. Everyone's a pioneer!"|date = February 12, 2015|access-date = February 14, 2015|website = ]}}</ref>

===Crescent Bay prototype===
In September 2014, Oculus once again presented an updated version of the Rift, codenamed Crescent Bay. This version has a greater resolution than the DK2, a lower weight, built-in audio, and 360-degree tracking thanks to the presence of tracking LEDs in the back of the headset.<ref name=CrescentBay>{{cite web|url=http://www.gamespot.com/articles/oculus-unveils-new-crescent-bay-rift-model-with-in/1100-6422451/|title=Oculus Unveils New Crescent Bay Rift Model With Integrated Audio, 360 Tracking|date=September 20, 2014}}</ref> Oculus has also licensed software library RealSpace3D, which is expected to provide the Rift with ] and reverb algorithms.<ref name=CrescentBay/> During a panel at ], titled "Explore the Future of VR", it was publicly announced for the first time that the prototype uses two screens instead of one as previously thought.<ref>{{cite web|url = https://www.theverge.com/2015/3/13/8212205/oculus-crescent-bay-two-screen-vr-headset-palmer-luckey|title = The Oculus Crescent Bay is a two-screen VR headset|date = March 14, 2015|access-date = March 14, 2015|website = The Verge}}</ref>

===First consumer version===
{{main|Oculus Rift CV1}}
]
Oculus VR announced on May 6, 2015, that the consumer version of the Rift would ship in the first quarter of 2016,<ref>{{cite web|title=First Look at the Rift, Shipping Q1 2016|url=https://www.oculus.com/en-us/blog/first-look-at-the-rift-shipping-q1-2016/|website=oculus.com|date=May 6, 2015}}</ref> and on March 25, 2016, the first batch of headsets began shipping to consumers.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gamewatcher.com/news/2016-25-03-oculus-rift-vr-headset-starts-shipping-to-customers|title=Oculus Rift VR headset starts shipping to customers|last=Falcon|first=Jonah|publisher=GameWatcher|date=March 25, 2016|access-date=March 25, 2016}}</ref>

In January, 2016, Oculus announced that backers of the original Kickstarter who had pledged $275 or more—roughly 7,500 users—would be gifted a free Oculus Rift kit, including the new headset, a game controller, and two VR games.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Hern |first=Alex |date=2016-01-06 |title=Oculus responds to Kickstarter criticism with free headsets |url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/jan/06/oculus-rift-kickstarter-free-headsets-virtual-reality |access-date=2024-05-14 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>

The consumer version is an improved version of the Crescent Bay Prototype, featuring per-eye displays with a 1080×1200 resolution, running at 90&nbsp;Hz, 360-degree positional tracking, integrated audio, a vastly increased positional tracking volume, and a heavy focus on consumer ergonomics and aesthetics.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.oculus.com/en-us/blog/first-look-at-the-rift-shipping-q1-2016/ |title=Blog — First Look at the Rift, Shipping Q1 2016 &#124; Oculus - Oculus VR |publisher=Oculus |access-date=July 17, 2015}}</ref>

In March 2019, during the announcement of the Rift S, it was said that the Rift S would replace the original Rift.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theverge.com/2019/3/20/18273327/oculus-rift-available-out-of-stock-amazon-bestbuy-newegg|title=The Oculus Rift is out of stock almost everywhere, still shipping "while supplies last"|last=Robertson|first=Adi|date=2019-03-20|website=The Verge|access-date=2019-03-25}}</ref> However, Oculus VR stated that they planned to support the CV1 with software updates for "the foreseeable future".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://uploadvr.com/original-oculus-rift-future/|title=Original Oculus Rift Will Be Supported 'For The Foreseeable Future'|date=2019-03-20|website=UploadVR|language=en-US|access-date=2019-03-25}}</ref>

===Rift S===
{{main|Oculus Rift S}}
On May 21, 2019, Oculus began shipping a new VR headset known as Rift S.<ref name=":2" /> The Rift S has a 1,280<ref>{{Cite web|title=Oculus Compare Headsets {{!}} Oculus|url=https://www.oculus.com/compare/|access-date=2020-08-28|website=www.oculus.com|language=en}}</ref> ×1,440 LCD @ 80&nbsp;Hz and slightly larger field of view than that of the CV1, but lacks mechanical IPD adjustment (IPD adjustment is software-only). The Rift S tracks the position of itself and its controllers in 3D space using a system known as Oculus Insight, which uses the 5 cameras on the HMD to track points in the environment and infrared LEDs on the controllers, information from accelerometers in both the HMD and controllers, and ] to predict what path the HMD and controllers are most likely to take.<ref>{{Citation|title=Oculus Insight: How Facebook's Oculus Quest & Rift S Track Your Head And Hand Movements| date=22 August 2019 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrj3JE-NHMw| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211117/nrj3JE-NHMw| archive-date=2021-11-17 | url-status=live|language=en|access-date=2019-09-30}}{{cbignore}}</ref> The Rift S uses a DisplayPort 1.2 port and one USB 3.0 port, as opposed to the HDMI and USB 3.0 port used on the Rift CV1. The Rift S targeted the same price point (USD$399) and hardware requirements as the Rift CV1, and has replaced the Rift CV1 since.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.roadtovr.com/oculus-rift-s-specs-release-date-announcement-gdc-2019/|title=Oculus Rift S Revealed with Inside-out Tracking, Resolution Bump, & New Ergonomics|last=Lang|first=Ben|date=2019-03-20|website=Road to VR|language=en-US|access-date=2019-03-20}}</ref>

During September 2020, it was announced that the Rift S would be discontinued in 2021 in order for Oculus to focus on the ].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Robertson|first=Adi|date=2020-09-16|title=Facebook is discontinuing the Oculus Rift S|url=https://www.theverge.com/2020/9/16/21422717/facebook-oculus-rift-s-discontinued-quest-2-vr-connect|access-date=2021-07-20|website=The Verge|language=en}}</ref> In 2021, the Rift S was officially discontinued and was no longer available on the Oculus website, effectively ending the Rift line.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Lilly|first=Paul|date=2021-07-05|title=It was a nice run, but the Oculus Rift S is no longer available on the Oculus site|url=https://www.pcgamer.com/it-was-a-nice-run-but-the-oculus-rift-s-is-no-longer-available-on-the-oculus-site/|access-date=2021-07-19|website=PC Gamer|language=en-US}}</ref>


==Software== ==Software==
{{see also|List of games with Oculus Rift support}}
Games and game platforms must be specifically designed to work correctly with the Oculus Rift. Oculus is producing a ] (SDK) to assist developers with integrating the Oculus Rift with their games. The SDK will include code, samples and documentation. According to Oculus, game integration will begin with PCs and smartphones, and be followed by consoles at a later date.{{citation needed|date=December 2013}} Since its introduction, many developers have been working on integration.<ref>{{cite web|last=Dutta|first=Soni|title=Why Oculus Rift is the Future in Gaming|url=http://www.gizmoworld.org/why-oculus-rift-is-the-future-in-gaming/|publisher=Gizmoworld|accessdate=18 December 2013}}</ref>


===Runtime===
'']'' was the first game to add support for the Oculus Rift, and is currently available to play with the Oculus Rift dev kit by use of a command line option. The second title to support the Oculus Rift was the Oculus only version of "Museum of the Microstar" which was released in April 2013. ''Half-Life 2'' was the third, and ''Hawken'' is likely to be the fourth game to support the Rift; it was prominently featured in the Kickstarter, and Oculus used it to demo the Rift at the ]. ''Doom 3: BFG Edition'' was originally going to be the first game to officially support the Oculus Rift, but after the change of tracker and the change to the 7" panel, Id Software has not yet updated the game to support it.
The Oculus Rift runtime officially supports ], ], and ]. The installation package includes components such as the headset driver (which includes Oculus Display driver and controller drivers), Positional Tracking Sensor driver, Oculus Service, and Oculus Home Application.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://static.oculus.com/sdk-downloads/documents/Oculus_User_Guide_0.4.4.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150303181137/http://static.oculus.com/sdk-downloads/documents/Oculus_User_Guide_0.4.4.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=March 3, 2015 |title=Oculus User Guide |date=March 3, 2015 |access-date=June 27, 2018}}</ref> The runtime service implements a number of processing techniques intended to minimize latency and in addition improve the smoothness of VR applications under weaker hardware. These include direct mode, ], and ].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://developer.oculus.com/blog/asynchronous-spacewarp/ |title=Asynchronous Spacewarp |publisher=developer.oculus.com |date=November 10, 2016 |access-date=June 27, 2018}}</ref>


===Oculus Home===
'']'' is the first announced game being designed specifically for the Oculus Rift and Virtual Reality, rather than adding Rift support to an existing game. This is considered important because many existing games use features that do not translate well to VR, such as a HUD, cutscenes, menus, third person sections, fast movement speeds, not being able to see one's own body, etc. It is currently on Kickstarter.<ref>{{cite web|author=|url=http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/494598080/the-gallery-six-elements |title=The Gallery: Six Elements by CloudHead Games — Kickstarter |publisher=Kickstarter.com |date= |accessdate=2013-11-01}}</ref>
When the user puts on the Rift and no other content is being outputted to the headset, they are presented with ''Oculus Home''. This is the default environment of the Rift, which presents them with a loft environment and a floating menu, allowing the user to launch VR applications they own, see if their friends are using the Rift, and purchase virtual reality content on the ''Oculus Home'' store from the headset.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.techradar.com/news/wearables/oculus-home-is-the-rift-s-homebase-1296412 |title=Oculus Home will let you buy games straight from the Rift |publisher=TechRadar |access-date=July 17, 2015}}</ref>


An update to the base software, called Core 2.0, introduced a more interactive default environment, allowing the user to navigate and customize it with imported 3D models.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://venturebeat.com/2018/09/26/facebook-shows-off-oculus-home-improvements-and-hybrid-apps/|title=Facebook shows off Oculus Home improvements and Hybrid Apps|date=2018-09-26|work=VentureBeat|access-date=2018-09-26|language=en-US}}</ref> However in 2023, Meta, formerly known as Oculus, closed Oculus Home and killed it off.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://mixed-news.com/en/meta-kills-oculus-home-these-digital-spaces-are-lost-forever/}|title=Meta kills Oculus Home: These digital spaces are lost forever|date=2023-05-27|work=MIXED Reality News|access-date=2023-05-27|language=en-US}}</ref>
], creators of the ], have announced that the engine will integrate support for the Oculus Rift. David Helgason, CEO of ], has announced support for the Oculus Rift with the ] engine. ], formerly of ], has stated that he plans to make the Oculus Rift a concurrent part of the '']'' development cycle to ensure that it works well with the game at launch.<ref name="doom4interview" /> '']'', the upcoming space role-playing simulator from ] (creator of '']'' and '']'') is being built with Oculus support.


===Oculus Store===
Several prominent figures from the games industry, notably ], the co-founder of ], ], the co-founder of ], ], the author of Zen of Graphics and Graphics Programming Black Book, ], former design director at ], and David Helgason, the founder of ] publicly endorsed the campaign. ], founder of ], has stated that the company's games will likely support the Oculus Rift.<ref name="AutoFU-7"/> ], who is researching ] and ] at ] said "I personally would like to get our games running on the Rift and make it a great experience".<ref name="autogenerated2" />
Oculus maintains a market place for applications for the headsets. The listings are curated to only allow applications that run smoothly on the recommended hardware. Most listings are also rated on their comfort level based on their likelihood of causing motion sickness or number of jump scares. However, developers do not have to use ''Oculus Home'' to distribute content for the Rift, this being entirely optional.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://techcrunch.com/2015/06/12/oculus-app-store/ |title=Oculus App Store Will Require Pre-Approvals, Comfort Ratings, Tax |publisher=TechCrunch |date=June 12, 2015 |access-date=July 17, 2015}}</ref> The Store can be accessed from the VR-based Oculus Home, from its desktop app, or on the Oculus web site under the section "Experiences."


==== Features ====
Several titles are playable on the Rift via the free and open source Vireio Perception VR drivers.<ref>{{cite web|title=Introducing Vireio Perception (3D Driver for Oculus Rift)|url=http://www.mtbs3d.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=140&t=15570|publisher=Mtbs3d.com|accessdate=2013-11-01}}</ref> Games currently with full or partial support include Left 4 Dead, Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Portal 2, Half Life 2, Bioshock, and more.<ref>. Mtbs3d.com. Retrieved on 2014-01-14.</ref>
Listings on the registry include:


* Age and content ratings
Vireio Perception 2.0 was the first VR driver to support direct game engine camera manipulation ("VRBoost"),<ref>. Mtbs3d.com (2013-11-25). Retrieved on 2014-01-14.</ref> true HUD/GUI resizing, and the Brown Reischl and Schneider Settings Analyzer (B.R.A.S.S.A) toolset. Among other things, Vireio promises near-native VR quality, minimal latency, game controller support and special tools that make it possible for users to dissect a game and create new game profiles.<ref>. Mtbs3d.com (2013-11-27). Retrieved on 2014-01-14.</ref>
* Comfort rating: "comfortable", "moderate", "intense" (assigned by Oculus)
* User ratings and reviews: user can give a rating on a 5-star scale and write a review


===SDK===
Another option for playing existing games is the VorpX commercial driver <ref>{{cite web|title=VorpX – Virtual Reality 3D-driver|url=http://www.vorpx.com|publisher=Vorpx.com|accessdate=2013-11-01}}</ref> that has listed support for a wide variety of games built on DirectX versions 9 through 11. All current DirectX 10 and 11 rendering is based on 2D+Depth technology, and true dual camera rendering is available for supported DirectX 9 games. Sample titles listed as being VorpX compatible include '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'' and more.
Content for the Rift is developed using the Oculus PC SDK, a free proprietary ] available for ] (OSX and Linux support is planned for the future).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.oculus.com/en-us/blog/powering-the-rift/ |title=Blog — Powering the Rift - Oculus VR |publisher=Oculus.com |date=May 15, 2015 |access-date=September 7, 2015}}</ref> This is a feature complete SDK which handles for the developer the various aspects of making virtual reality content, such as the optical distortion and advanced rendering techniques.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://developer.oculus.com/ |title=Creators — Home &#124; Oculus |publisher=Developer.oculus.com |date=February 2, 2015 |access-date=July 17, 2015}}</ref>


The Oculus SDK is directly integrated with the popular game engines ], ], and ]. This allows for developers already familiar with these engines to create VR content with little to no VR-specific code.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://blogs.unity3d.com/2015/06/09/unity-5-1-is-here/ |title=Unity 5.1 is here! – Unity Blog |publisher=Blogs.unity3d.com |access-date=July 17, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.unrealengine.com/vr-page |title=VR |publisher=Unrealengine.com |access-date=July 17, 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150629143348/https://www.unrealengine.com/vr-page |archive-date=29 June 2015 |df=dmy-all }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://vrfocus.com/archives/17544/cryengine-gets-oculus-support/ |title=CryENGINE Gets Oculus Support |publisher=VRFocus |date=June 19, 2015 |access-date=July 17, 2015 |archive-date=July 5, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150705204851/http://vrfocus.com/archives/17544/cryengine-gets-oculus-support/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>
Dynamic Digital Depth has also been releasing Oculus Rift "Add-On" VR features to their TriDef Ignition stereoscopic 3D drivers. Their support highlights include Bioshock 2, Crysis, Fallout 3, Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Metro 2033, and more. TriDef Ignition's Oculus Rift support is currently limited to DirectX 9 games.<ref>. Tridef.com. Retrieved on 2014-01-14.</ref>


The Rift is an open platform, and thus developers do not need any approval or verification to develop, distribute, or sell content for it, and do not have to pay any licensing fees. The SDK, however, cannot be modified or reused for other purposes or hardware without permission.<ref>{{cite web|last=Jarvis |first=Matthew |url=http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/oculus-rift-will-be-an-open-platform-avoid-console-tactics-insists-founder/0152576 |title=Oculus Rift 'will be an open platform', avoid 'console tactics', insists founder &#124; Games industry news &#124; MCV |publisher=Mcvuk.com |date=June 23, 2015 |access-date=July 17, 2015}}</ref>
In an effort to make sure claims of VR compatibility have an objective meaning, Meant to be Seen released GameGradeVR.<ref>. Mtbs3d.com (2013-12-01). Retrieved on 2014-01-14.</ref> The service is non-proprietary and works with DDD, Vireio Perception, VorpX, and native VR software that doesn't require a middleware add-on. Gamer driven, the service asks the user a series of questions about required game settings, visual flexibility, and any problems or anomalies that remain. The final score and entry tells users what they need to get the best results, and informs software developers what problems need solving without infringing on artistic choices.<ref>. 3D Vision Blog (2013-12-09). Retrieved on 2014-01-14.</ref>


Content developed for the Development Kit 2 using SDK version 0.8 or above are compatible with the Rift; however, content developed for the Development Kit 1 or with older versions of the SDK will have to be recompiled using the latest SDK version to be compatible.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://developer.oculus.com/blog/upcoming-oculus-pc-sdk-0-7-compatibility-changes/ |title=Blog — Upcoming Oculus PC SDK 0.7 Compatibility Changes &#124; Oculus |publisher=Developer.oculus.com |access-date=September 7, 2015}}</ref>
==Broadcasting==
Demos of the Oculus Rift featuring impressions and gameplay with both single images and stereo images have been broadcast on ] by a number of popular video game content providers.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cinemablend.com/games/Photorealistic-Unity-Engine-Tech-Demo-Gets-Oculus-Rift-Razer-Hydra-Support-NSFW-58917.html |title=Photorealistic Unity Engine Tech Demo Gets Oculus Rift, Razer Hydra Support ] with over 2 million views.<ref>{{cite web|last=Kooser |first=Amanda |url=http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-57579846-1/90-year-old-grandma-rocks-an-oculus-rift-vr-headset/ |title=90-year-old grandma rocks an Oculus Rift VR headset &#124; Crave - CNET |publisher=News.cnet.com |date=2013-04-16 |accessdate=2013-09-09}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.cnet.com/2300-17938_105-10017025-7.html |title=Trip to Tuscany - 10 amusing Oculus Rift freakouts (pictures) |publisher=News.cnet.com |date=2013-06-08 |accessdate=2013-09-09}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/04/15/oculus-rift-90-year-old-w_n_3083635.html |title=Oculus Rift: 90 Year Old Woman Freaks Out Wearing Virtual Reality Headset |work=] |date=2013-04-15 |accessdate=2013-09-09}}</ref>


On December 21, 2015, Oculus announced the release of their finalized Rift 1.0 SDK, combined with the start of shipping their final version of the Oculus Rift VR headset to developers.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2015/12/oculus-shipping-final-rift-hardware-to-developers-starting-this-week/|title=Oculus shipping final Rift hardware to developers starting this week|publisher=Arstechnica.com |date=December 22, 2015 |access-date=December 22, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://developer.oculus.com/blog/rift-sdk-1-0-shipping-to-developers-with-final-rift-hardware/|title=Rift SDK 1.0 shipping to developers with final rift hardware|publisher=developer.oculus.com |date=December 21, 2015 |access-date=December 22, 2015}}</ref>
==Related projects==
While working as a designer at the ] Institute for Creative Technologies, Palmer Luckey behind the Oculus Rift worked on the FOV2GO project, an inexpensive kit consisting of a simple housing and optics to allow someone to put together a cheap ] using a mobile phone as the display device.<ref name="uscinteractive" /><ref name="uscmxr" /><ref name="uscmxrpeople" /> The FOV2GO project is now available as a template allowing anyone to build the unit themselves.<ref name="AutoFU-21"/>


At Oculus's 3rd annual conference (Oculus Connect 3), it announced the new technology, called "Asynchronous Spacewarp (ASW)". This technology allows the Rift to compensate for the dropped frames. According to Oculus, ASW reduces the minimum specs of a PC to run the Rift without any judder.
A team from the ] is working on creating a fully immersive ] experience called "Project ]", which utilises ] motion controllers, PS Move positional tracking, and Oculus Rift ]s to give the user the impression of being inside of a complete virtual world.<ref name="AutoFU-22"/><ref name="AutoFU-23"/>


== System requirements ==
==See also==
In May 2015, Oculus VR announced "recommended" hardware specifications for computers utilizing Oculus Rift, specifying a CPU equivalent to an ], at least 8GB of RAM, at least an ] or ] graphics card, an ] 1.3 output, three ] ports, and one ] port. Oculus VR stated that these requirements would remain in force for the life of the first consumer model. The company also stated that while upcoming discrete GPUs for laptops may be able to reach the required performance for Oculus Rift, systems that switch between integrated and discrete graphics may not handle output in a manner that supports the device. Oculus Rift only supports ] versions of ] ] SP1 or later; Oculus VR stated that the device would initially support Windows only in order to focus on "delivering a highquality consumer-level VR experience"; support for ] and ] will be developed in the future.<ref name="verge-requirements">{{cite web|title=Here's the high-end PC you'll need to run the Oculus Rift|url=https://www.theverge.com/2015/5/15/8612027/oculus-rift-pc-recommended-specs|website=The Verge|date=15 May 2015 |access-date=19 August 2016}}</ref><ref name="gamespot-requirements">{{cite web|title=Oculus Rift Minimum PC Spec Finalized|url=http://www.gamespot.com/articles/oculus-rift-minimum-pc-spec-finalized/1100-6433566/|website=GameSpot|publisher=CBS Interactive|access-date=19 August 2016}}</ref>
{{Portal|Video games}}

* ]
A hardware testing application is available,<ref name="polygon-oculusready">{{cite web|title=Here are the first Oculus Rift PC bundles, which you can pre-order Feb. 16|url=http://www.polygon.com/2016/2/9/10951380/oculus-rift-ready-pc-pre-order-asus-alienware-dell|website=Polygon|date=9 February 2016 |publisher=Vox Media|access-date=19 August 2016}}</ref> and Oculus VR has also certified and promoted specific models of pre-built computers that meet these recommendations, from vendors such as ], ] and ], as being "Oculus Ready".<ref name="polygon-oculusready"/><ref name="ars-lowerspec"/>
* ] – a Rift-compatible ]

* ]
On October 6, 2016, Oculus VR announced lessened hardware recommendations, now suggesting an ] or AMD ] CPU, at least a GeForce GTX 960 or equivalent graphics card, two USB 3.0 ports and one USB 2.0 port, and ] or newer. The company stated that these lower requirements were enabled by the adoption of ]; on systems that cannot handle full 90&nbsp;frames per second rendering, the drivers will allow software to render at 45&nbsp;FPS instead, and generate frames based on differences between them to send to the headset to maintain its frame rate. Oculus promoted that these changes lowered the average hardware cost of a PC meeting these specifications to US$500 and would also enable certain laptops to run Oculus Rift.<ref name="ars-lowerspec">{{cite web|title=Oculus lowers minimum Rift specs using "asynchronous spacewarp" tech|url=https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2016/10/oculus-lowers-minimum-rift-specs-using-asynchronous-spacewarp-tech/|website=Ars Technica|date=6 October 2016 |access-date=6 October 2016}}</ref><ref name="polygon-lowerrequirements">{{cite web|title=Oculus Rift has a new minimum spec, $499 entry-level PC|url=http://www.polygon.com/virtual-reality/2016/10/6/13189600/oculus-rift-minimum-spec|website=Polygon|date=6 October 2016 |access-date=6 October 2016}}</ref>
* ]

* ]
In June 2018, Oculus VR updated its recommended OS spec to Windows 10. While Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 users would still be able to access the standard Rift experience, newer features and apps might require an upgrade to Windows 10.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.oculus.com/blog/updating-rifts-minimum-and-recommended-spec-os-to-windows-10/|title=Updating Rift's Minimum and Recommended Spec OS to Windows 10|last=VR|first=Oculus|access-date=2018-07-16|language=en}}</ref>
* ]

==Applications==

===Gaming===
{{main|List of Oculus Rift games}}
Oculus has stated that the Rift is primarily a gaming device and that their main content focus is gaming.<ref>{{cite news|author=Dan Kedmey |url=https://time.com/3918081/oculus-rift-release-date-microsoft/ |title=Oculus Rift Headset Available Early 2016, Xbox Controller Included |publisher=] |date=June 11, 2015 |access-date=July 17, 2015}}</ref>

Existing games with a first-person or fixed-camera perspective can be ported to VR with some development effort. However, Oculus has stated that the best virtual reality experiences are those that are designed, from the beginning, for the Rift.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=addUnJpjjv4 | archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211117/addUnJpjjv4| archive-date=2021-11-17 | url-status=live|title=Connect: Developing VR Experiences with the Oculus Rift |publisher=YouTube |date=October 29, 2014 |access-date=July 17, 2015}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

A number of ] have added Rift support (and can be played with the Development Kit 2), including '']'', '']'', '']'', and '']'', as well as a number of ] such as '']'' and '']''. Fans and hobbyists have also modded support for the Rift into several popular titles which allow for extensive low-level ], including '']'' and '']''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mtbs3d.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=142&t=17489 |title=Meant to be Seen - View topic - Minecrift release archive |publisher=Mtbs3d.com |access-date=July 17, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://flyinside-fsx.com/ |title=FlyInside - Virtual Reality Flight Simulation |publisher=Flyinside-fsx.com |access-date=July 17, 2015}}</ref>

At the release event for the Rift in June 2015, Oculus announced 9 launch titles for the Rift, including '']'' by ] and ''Edge of Nowhere'' by ]. It also announced that it was working with other developers including ''Final Fantasy'' developer ], ''Rock Band'' developer ], and ''The Order: 1886'' developer ].<ref>{{cite web|last=Webster |first=Andrew |url=https://www.theverge.com/2015/6/11/8766703/oculus-rift-launch-games |title=These are the first Oculus Rift games |publisher=The Verge |date=June 11, 2015 |access-date=July 17, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=O'Brien |first=Lucy |url=http://uk.ign.com/articles/2015/06/11/e3-2015-square-enix-harmonix-among-oculus-publisher-partnerships |title=E3 2015: Square Enix, Harmonix Among Oculus' Publisher Partnerships - IGN |publisher=Uk.ign.com |date=June 11, 2015 |access-date=September 7, 2015}}</ref>

In July 2015, Oculus revealed that it was fully funding more than 20 ] high production value games made exclusively for the Rift, one of these being ]'s ''Edge of Nowhere''.<ref>{{cite web|last=Parfitt |first=Ben |url=http://www.develop-online.net/news/oculus-studios-funding-20-games/0208843 |title=Oculus Studios funding 20+ games &#124; Latest news from the game development industry &#124; Develop |website=MCV |date=14 July 2015 |publisher=Develop-online.net |access-date=July 17, 2015}}</ref>

In July 2017, Marvel announced in the Disney's D23 event that it will be bringing 12 superheroes of theirs to VR with an Oculus exclusive game called Powers United VR.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://techcrunch.com/2017/07/16/marvel-is-bringing-its-superheroes-to-vr-with-a-new-oculus-exclusive-game|title=Marvel is bringing its superheroes to VR with a new Oculus-exclusive game|first=Lucas|last=Matney|date=16 July 2017 }}</ref>

===Non-gaming===

====Media====
Oculus is including ''Oculus Cinema'' as a free application, which allows the Rift to be used to view conventional movies and videos from inside a virtual cinema environment, giving the user the perception of viewing the content on a cinema-sized screen.<ref>{{cite web|last=Westaway |first=Luke |url=http://www.cnet.com/news/virtual-reality-and-the-silver-screen-a-match-made-in-heaven/ |title=Virtual reality and the silver screen: A match made in heaven |publisher=CNET |date=October 13, 2014 |access-date=September 7, 2015}}</ref> ''Oculus Cinema'' will also have a networked mode, in which multiple users can watch the same video in the same virtual space, seeing each other as avatars and being able to interact and talk to one another while watching the video.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.slashgear.com/oculus-cinema-to-bring-online-multiplayer-experience-to-movie-watching-06395833/ |title=Oculus Cinema to bring 'online multiplayer' experience to movie watching |date=6 August 2015 |publisher=SlashGear |access-date=September 7, 2015}}</ref>

The Rift also offers the opportunity to view new types of media that are impossible to view on regular monitors; 360° 3D videos and 'virtual reality movies' (an entirely new medium).

Spherical videos (commonly called 360° videos) can be viewed simply by the user moving their head around, and the Rift opens up the possibility for stereoscopic spherical videos (commonly called 360° 3D videos). In September 2014, NextVR announced that they would be using a $200,000 camera rig to produce 360° 3D content for the Rift, including short films, as well as live streaming live events such as sports or concerts in 360° 3D.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.slashgear.com/nextvr-aims-to-transform-sports-entertainment-forever-05372279/ |title=NextVR aims to transform sports entertainment forever |date=5 March 2015 |publisher=SlashGear |access-date=September 7, 2015}}</ref> In July 2015, Oculus announced a deal with Canadian film company Felix & Paul Studios to produce 360° 3D videos for the Rift.<ref>{{cite web|last=Clark |first=Liat |url=https://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2015-07/17/oculus-rift-joins-felix-and-paul-vr-film-studios |title=Oculus joins with VR filmmakers Felix & Paul (Wired UK) |publisher=Wired.co.uk |date=July 17, 2015 |access-date=September 7, 2015}}</ref>

The Rift also supports a new medium of entertainment experiences, which Oculus calls "virtual reality movies". Oculus has established ] to develop this type of content for the Rift, a team which has multiple former employees from major VFX companies such as ] and ]. ] showed off its first VR movie, ''Lost'', at the ], gaining positive reviews from attendees.<ref>{{cite web|last=Volpe |first=Joseph |url=https://www.engadget.com/2015/01/27/oculus-story-studio-is-the-pixar-of-virtual-reality/ |title=Oculus Story Studio is the Pixar of virtual reality |publisher=Engadget.com |date=January 27, 2015 |access-date=September 7, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://vimeo.com/117849907 |title=Introducing Oculus Story Studio on Vimeo |publisher=Vimeo.com |date=January 26, 2015 |access-date=September 7, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Dormehl |first=Luke |url=http://www.fastcompany.com/3041482/fast-feed/oculus-debuts-pixar-quality-virtual-reality-short-at-sundance-film-festival |title=Oculus Debuts Pixar-Quality Virtual Reality Short At Sundance Film Festival &#124; Fast Company &#124; Business + Innovation |publisher=Fast Company |date=January 27, 2015 |access-date=September 7, 2015}}</ref>

The studio intends to have 5 VR shorts released with the Rift at launch, including ''Lost'', ''Bullfighter'', '']'', ''Dear Angelica'', and ''Kabloom''.

====Social====
]
Oculus believes that social applications will be the most popular virtual reality experiences in the long term.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.recode.net/2015/6/19/11563728/oculus-rift-inventor-palmer-luckey-virtual-reality-will-make-distance|title=Oculus Rift Inventor Palmer Luckey: Virtual Reality Will Make Distance Irrelevant (Q&A)|date=19 June 2015|work=Recode.net|access-date=11 March 2017}}</ref> A number of social applications for the Rift are in development, and it is expected that there will be significant competition in the sector.<ref name=X>{{cite web|url=http://www.xconomy.com/san-francisco/2015/06/25/second-life-creator-linden-lab-prepares-to-test-parallel-vr-universe/ |title=Second Life Creator Linden Lab Prepares To Test Parallel VR Universe |publisher=Xconomy |date=June 25, 2015 |access-date=September 7, 2015}}</ref>

In May 2015, ] launched a public beta for DK2 owners to try out their social VR platform. AltspaceVR allows people to inhabit a shared virtual space with spatial voice communications, cast content from the Internet on virtual screens, and interact with objects (allowing activities such as playing chess or other board games). It also supports extra hardware like eye tracking and body tracking.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://fortune.com/2015/05/20/altspacevr-social-vr/ |title=Eric Romo's AltspaceVR launches first VR social platform |publisher=Fortune |date=May 20, 2015 |access-date=September 7, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/sections/alltechconsidered/2015/06/01/411233592/getting-physical-and-emotional-in-virtual-reality |title=Getting 'Physical' And Emotional In Virtual Reality : All Tech Considered |publisher=NPR |date=June 1, 2015 |access-date=September 7, 2015}}</ref>

In 2013, ], the founder of ], left ] to work on a new virtual world designed for the Rift, called '']'', which will link thousands of user-hosted virtual environments together into a consistent virtual world.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://nwn.blogs.com/nwn/2013/10/philip-rosedale-leaves-linden-lab.html |title=New World Notes: SL Creator Philip Rosedale No Longer on Linden Lab's Board |publisher=Nwn.blogs.com |date=October 23, 2013 |access-date=September 7, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Robertson |first=Adi |url=https://www.theverge.com/2014/5/19/5732386/high-fidelity-philip-rosendale-telepresence-second-life-hands-on |title=Inside High Fidelity, the virtual reality successor to 'Second Life' |date=20 May 2014 |publisher=The Verge |access-date=September 7, 2015}}</ref>

In May 2015, Linden Lab, the company behind Second Life, announced that they too were working on a new virtual world, codenamed ''Project Sansar'', built for virtual reality headsets such as the Rift and ]. Like Second Life, Sansar will be hosted on Linden's servers and lease virtual land to players, on which they can build and sell virtual items and services (which Linden will take a cut of). Linden Lab hoped to release Sansar by the end of 2016.<ref name=X/>

====Industrial and professional====
As well as the consumer uses, the Rift has attracted significant interest from industry and professional spheres for productivity enhancement, visualization, and advertising.

A number of architecture firms have been experimenting with using the Rift for visualization and design. With the right software, the Rift allows architects to see exactly what their building will look like and get an understanding of the scale that is impossible on a traditional monitor.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.willbereleased.com/event/oculus-rift/|title=Oculus Rift - Will be released|work=WillBeReleased.com|access-date=11 March 2017}}</ref>

In early 2015, ] started using Rift Developer Kit 2's at dealerships to help customers configure the car they are interested in, as well as to see what driving a race in the car would be like.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.autoblog.com/2015/01/19/audi-reveals-virtual-reality-dealership-in-a-briefcase/ |title=Audi reveals virtual reality 'dealership in a briefcase' |publisher=Autoblog.com |date=January 19, 2015 |access-date=September 7, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thedrum.com/news/2014/06/26/audi-partners-somo-create-fan-experiences-using-google-glass-and-oculus-rift |title=Audi partners with Somo to create fan experiences using Google Glass and Oculus Rift at Goodwood Festival of Speed |publisher=The Drum |date=June 26, 2014 |access-date=September 7, 2015}}</ref>

The ] has been experimenting with the Rift Development Kit 2 to allow for a greater situational awareness of armoured vehicle drivers and commanders.<ref>{{cite web|last=Brandom |first=Russell |url=https://www.theverge.com/2014/5/5/5682942/the-norwegian-army-is-using-the-oculus-rift-to-drive-tanks |title=The Norwegian Army is using the Oculus Rift to drive tanks |publisher=The Verge |date=May 5, 2014 |access-date=September 7, 2015}}</ref>

The use of Oculus Rift on an innovative virtual operator station assists the control of a teleoperated military mobile robot Tactical Robotic System (TAROS). Human operators can have intuitive control and mediate 3D view from stereovision cameras.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Tomas|first1=Kot|last2=Petr|first2=Novak|date=2018|title=Application of virtual reality in teleoperation of the military mobile robotic system TAROS|journal= International Journal of Advanced Robotic Systems|volume=15|issue=1|pages=172988141775154|doi=10.1177/1729881417751545|doi-access=free|hdl=10084/123544|hdl-access=free}}</ref>

] is a Painting Experience for Oculus Rift.

'''Education'''
]
The Oculus Rift is increasingly used in universities and schools as an educational tool.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Moro|first1=Christian|last2=Štromberga|first2=Zane|last3=Stirling|first3=Allan|date=2017-11-29|title=Virtualisation devices for student learning: Comparison between desktop-based (Oculus Rift) and mobile-based (Gear VR) virtual reality in medical and health science education|journal=Australasian Journal of Educational Technology|language=en|volume=33|issue=6|doi=10.14742/ajet.3840|issn=1449-5554|doi-access=free}}</ref> The ability to provide an immersive, engaging environment can assist a diverse range of students for learning. In particular, there appears to be benefits to medical, health science and exercise students when utilising the Oculus Rift as a supplement for content provided in anatomy and physiology.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Moro|first1=Christian|last2=Štromberga|first2=Zane|last3=Raikos|first3=Athanasios|last4=Stirling|first4=Allan|date=2017-11-01|title=The effectiveness of virtual and augmented reality in health sciences and medical anatomy|journal=Anatomical Sciences Education|language=en|volume=10|issue=6|pages=549–559|doi=10.1002/ase.1696|pmid=28419750|s2cid=25961448|issn=1935-9780|url=https://research.bond.edu.au/en/publications/d761ced8-4406-4a5e-ae3f-01862a09a36e}}</ref> There is also increasing use of the Oculus Rift within curricula in other fields such as marketing, architecture, clinical education.,<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Kuehn|first=Bridget M.|title=Virtual and Augmented Reality Put a Twist on Medical Education|journal=JAMA|volume=319|issue=8|pages=756–758|language=en|doi=10.1001/jama.2017.20800|pmid=29417140|year=2018}}</ref> computer science and paramedics<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Birt|first1=James|last2=Stromberga|first2=Zane|last3=Cowling|first3=Michael|last4=Moro|first4=Christian|date=2018-01-31|title=Mobile Mixed Reality for Experiential Learning and Simulation in Medical and Health Sciences Education|journal=Information|language=en|volume=9|issue=2|pages=31|doi=10.3390/info9020031|url=https://pure.bond.edu.au/ws/files/25188221/Mobile_mixed_reality_for_experiential.pdf|doi-access=free}}</ref>

====Television====
In October 2016, the television series '']'' was released as a "virtual reality series", where some episodes are broadcast on conventional television. and some as VR content for Oculus Rift. It is a crime drama following the world's first "VR Crimes Unit" in 2048.{{citation needed|date=October 2016}}

====Sports====
] began producing content for the Oculus Rift and other virtual reality systems in fall 2016. Its initial content consisted mainly of '']'' coverage.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/2016/digital/news/fox-sports-college-football-vr-1201858653/|title=Fox Sports Streams College Football Match in Virtual Reality|first=Janko|last=Rœttgers|work=Variety|date=September 13, 2016|access-date=October 26, 2016}}</ref>

====Casinos====
Some ] have started using Oculus Rift to provide a unique online casino experience, allowing the user to play slots and experience the lobby of a casino through their VR headset.<ref>{{cite web|title=Gambling on virtual reality: the online casinos of the future|url=https://venturebeat.com/2015/11/13/gambling-on-virtual-reality-the-online-casinos-of-the-future/|website=VentureBeat|date=13 November 2015 |access-date=14 February 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Online slots and the Oculus Rift VR glasses|url=https://www.slotsdaily.co.uk/play-slots-with-an-oculus-rift/|access-date=14 February 2017}}</ref>

==ZeniMax/Facebook lawsuits==
{{main|ZeniMax v. Oculus}}
], the parent company of ], which in turn owns ], presented a lawsuit against Facebook, claiming the Oculus Rift was the product of intellectual property owned by ZeniMax, developed by John Carmack during his time working for Id Software. The jury ruled partially in favor of ZeniMax, finding the defendants did not steal ] but had violated a ]. Facebook and some of the Oculus ]s were ordered to pay a total of US$500 million.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-zenimax-oculus-vr-lawsuit-explained-2017-2|title=Facebook just lost a $500 million lawsuit — here's what's going on|date=2017-02-07|publisher=Business Insider}}</ref> On March 10, 2017, it was revealed that Carmack was suing ZeniMax for US$22.7 million it owed him from their purchase of Id Software.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theverge.com/games/2017/3/10/14885334/john-carmack-lawsuit-zenimax-22-5-million-oculus-facebook|title=John Carmack is suing ZeniMax for $22.5 million and I just want everyone to be friends|date=2017-03-10|publisher=The Verge}}</ref>

==Reception==
The Oculus Rift received generally positive reviews. '']'' felt that the Rift was a "remarkably well-made and accessible device", describing its hardware design as having succeeded in "mak something so stereotypically geeky look (relatively) natural", and the headset itself as being "lighter and more comfortable than most of its competition" once properly fitted to the user's head. Its displays were considered to be "bright and relatively clear", albeit ] in appearance. The Rift was panned for not offering its own ] at launch like the ], and that the lack of support for room-scale experiences with a single camera led to games where VR support " like an addition, not a transformation". However, the reviewer felt that the Rift's launch titles marked the first time they had played any VR game that could "rival a decently made non-VR computer game for polish and scope", and the Vive and then-upcoming Oculus Touch controllers showed a bigger potential for VR than the largely stationary experiences the Rift offered at launch. It was argued that, while acknowledging the cost limitations of the headset and the necessary computing hardware, and its "relentless" focus on gaming, the Oculus Rift "makes a good case for seated VR, and it lays a solid foundation for what's to come.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Robertson |first=Adi |date=2016-03-28 |title=Oculus Rift review: Virtual reality is always almost here |url=https://www.theverge.com/2016/3/28/11284590/oculus-rift-vr-review |access-date=2023-05-31 |website=The Verge |language=en-US}}</ref>

In a post-launch review, '']'' felt that the Oculus Touch controllers, improved support for room-scale experiences, and a recent price cut to US$399 made the Rift "more appealing than the more expensive HTC Vive", concluding that it "produces an immersive, crisp virtual reality experience that will continue to improve with the development of new software, which has been steadily coming out on both the Oculus store and SteamVR."<ref>{{Cite web |title=Oculus Rift Review |url=https://www.pcmag.com/reviews/oculus-rift |access-date=2023-05-31 |website=PCMAG |language=en}}</ref>


==References== ==References==
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<ref name="Announcing the Oculus Rift Development Kit 2 (DK2)">{{cite web|url=https://www.oculus.com/en-us/blog/announcing-the-oculus-rift-development-kit-2-dk2/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160203172109/https://www.oculus.com/en-us/blog/announcing-the-oculus-rift-development-kit-2-dk2/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=February 3, 2016 |title=Announcing the Oculus Rift Development Kit 2 (DK2) |publisher=Oculus VR |date=March 19, 2014|access-date=Aug 31, 2018}}</ref>
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<ref name="AutoFU-21"> {{dead link|date=November 2013}}</ref>
<ref name="rift-phaseout-tested">{{cite web |last1=Mitchell |first1=Nate |title=Oculus Rift S Hands-On and Impressions! |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vtryRHVg_I&t=3m22s | archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211117/2vtryRHVg_I| archive-date=2021-11-17 | url-status=live|website=YouTube |publisher=Whalerock Industries |access-date=23 May 2019 |date=March 20, 2019 |quote=So Rift S is gonna wholly replace Rift. We're actually in the process of phasing out Rift right now.}}{{cbignore}}</ref>
<ref name="AutoFU-22">{{cite web|url=http://www.projectholodeck.com/ |title=Project Holodeck « Project Holodeck |publisher=Projectholodeck.com |date=2013-05-17 |accessdate=2013-09-09}}</ref>

<ref name="AutoFU-23">{{cite web|url=http://www.roadtovr.com/2012/07/20/project-holodeck-seeks-to-create-a-low-cost-full-motion-vr-gaming-environment-with-the-help-of-the-oculus-rift-hmd/ |title=Project Holodeck Seeks to Build a Platform for Virtual Reality GamesRoad to Virtual Reality |publisher=Roadtovr.com |date= |accessdate=2013-09-09}}</ref>
<ref name="rift-phaseout-theverge">{{cite web |last1=Robertson |first1=Adi |title=The Oculus Rift is out of stock almost everywhere, still shipping 'while supplies last' |url=https://www.theverge.com/2019/3/20/18273327/oculus-rift-available-out-of-stock-amazon-bestbuy-newegg |website=The Verge |publisher=Vox Media, Inc. |access-date=23 May 2019 |date=March 20, 2019 |quote=While we don't comment on specific shipment windows or allocations, can confirm original Rift is still available for sale at Oculus.com and from our retail partners while supplies last.}}</ref>
<!-- Unused citation <ref name="TF2"></ref> -->

<ref name="200dollar">{{cite web|url=http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2012-12-18-oculus-rift-and-the-virtual-reality-revolution |title=Oculus Rift and the Virtual Reality Revolution |publisher=Gamesindustry.biz |date= |accessdate=2013-09-09}}</ref>
<ref name="rift-phaseout-oculusblog">{{cite web |title=Announcing Oculus Rift S, Our New PC VR Headset Launching Spring 2019 for $399 |url=https://www.oculus.com/blog/announcing-oculus-rift-s-our-new-pc-vr-headset-launching-spring-2019/ |website=Oculus.com |publisher=Facebook Technologies, LLC |access-date=23 May 2019 |date=March 20, 2019 |quote=Rift S replaces the original Rift with an upgrade to a higher resolution display, improved optics, and a feature called Passthrough+ … Because Rift and Rift S share the same core platform experience, current Rift owners will be able to take advantage of our continued software updates.}}</ref>
<ref name="VergeTour">{{cite web|url=http://www.theverge.com/2013/3/19/4122388/can-oculus-rift-save-virtual-reality |title=Inside Oculus: a tour of virtual reality's would-be savior |publisher=Theverge.com |date=2013-03-19 |accessdate=2013-09-09}}</ref>

<ref name="Oculus Developer Kit Order">{{cite web|url=https://www.oculusvr.com/order/ |title=Oculus Developer Kit Order Page |publisher=oculusvr.com |date=2014-1-9|accessdate=2014-1-9}}</ref>
<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|url=https://www.theverge.com/2019/4/30/18524055/oculus-quest-rift-s-vr-headset-launch-date-preorders-price|title=The Oculus Quest and Oculus Rift S launch on May 21st, and preorders open today|last=Robertson|first=Adi|date=2019-04-30|website=The Verge|access-date=2019-06-03}}</ref>
}} }}


==External links== ==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* {{Official website|http://oculusvr.com/}}
* {{Official website}}
* {{Kickstarter|1523379957/oculus-rift-step-into-the-game}} * {{Kickstarter|1523379957/oculus-rift-step-into-the-game}}
{{Meta Horizon}}{{Mixed reality}}
*
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Latest revision as of 19:41, 21 December 2024

Virtual reality headsets by Oculus VR This article is about the product line. For the 2016 headset, see Oculus Rift CV1. For the 2019 headset, see Oculus Rift S.
Oculus Rift
Product typeVirtual reality headset (PC, tethered)
OwnerOculus VR
CountryUnited States
IntroducedApril 2012
DiscontinuedApril 2021
MarketsWorldwide
TaglineStep into the Game
Websiteoculusvr.com

Oculus Rift is a discontinued line of virtual reality headsets developed and manufactured by Oculus VR, a virtual reality company founded by Palmer Luckey that is widely credited with reviving the virtual reality industry. It was the first virtual reality headset to provide a realistic experience at an accessible price, utilizing novel technology to increase quality and reduce cost by orders of magnitude compared to earlier systems. The first headset in the line was the Oculus Rift DK1, released on March 28, 2013. The last was the Oculus Rift S, discontinued in April 2021.

The Rift went through various pre-production models prior to the release of the Oculus Rift CV1, the first Oculus Rift intended for use by the general public. Two of these, the DK1 in early-2013 and DK2 in mid-2014, were intended to provide content developers with a development kit platform to create content for the Rift's eventual consumer release. However, both development kits were purchased by many gaming enthusiasts who wished to get an early preview of the technology. The Rift saw its official consumer release in March 2016 with the Oculus Rift CV1, and was eventually replaced in March 2019 by the Oculus Rift S. The Oculus Rift software library is still compatible with its successor, the Oculus Quest.

History

Initial prototypes

Through Meant to be Seen (MTBS)'s virtual reality and 3D discussion forums, Palmer Luckey, the founder of Oculus and longtime MTBS discussion forum moderator, developed the idea of creating a new head-mounted display that was both more effective than what was then on the market, and inexpensive for gamers.

The first prototype of the Oculus Rift was created in 2011 by Palmer Luckey (then 18 years old) in his parents’ garage in Long Beach, California. Luckey had been building his own virtual reality headsets since 2009, but the 2011 prototype was the first to incorporate key technologies like geometric pre-distortion and a wide stereoscopic field-of-view that would come to define all of his subsequent designs. Luckey decided to drop out of college and start Oculus VR, intending to turn his prototype into the world's first mass-produced virtual reality headset.

Noted videogame pioneer John Carmack, the founder of id Software, had been doing extensive research into virtual reality technology, leading Luckey to lend him a prototype Oculus Rift. Carmack wrote a public review of the prototype calling it "by far the most immersive HMD" he had used, noting that the targeted price would also make it the cheapest. At the 2012 Electronic Entertainment Expo, Id Software gave demonstrations of their games running on the prototype Oculus Rift and announced that their newest game, Doom 3 BFG Edition, would be compatible with the Oculus Rift. These early prototypes used a high speed IMU, 5.6" LCD, and wide-FOV optics to project a 90 degrees horizontal and 110 degrees vertical stereoscopic 3D view onto the retina of the user.

The Development Kit 1

Development Kit 1

Rear view and control box

Two months after being formed as a company, Palmer's Oculus VR launched a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign on August 1, 2012, for their virtual reality headset, named the Rift. The main purpose of the Kickstarter was to get an Oculus Rift prototype—now referred to as DK1 (Development Kit 1)—into the hands of developers to begin integration of the device into their games. The DK1 was given as a reward to backers who pledged $300 or more on Kickstarter, and was later sold publicly for $300 on their website. These kits sold at a rate of 4–5 per minute for the first day, before slowing down throughout the week.

The Rift DK1 was released on March 29, 2013, and uses a 7-inch (18 cm) screen with a significantly faster pixel switching speed than the original prototype, reducing latency and motion blur when turning one's head quickly. The pixel fill is also better, reducing the screen door effect and making individual pixels less noticeable. The LCD is brighter and the color depth is 24 bits per pixel.

The 7-inch screen also makes the stereoscopic 3D no longer 100% overlapping, the left eye seeing extra area to the left and the right eye seeing extra area to the right, in which there is no 3D depth perception. The field of view (FOV) is more than 90 degrees horizontal (110 degrees diagonal), which is more than double the FOV of previous VR devices from other companies, and is the primary strength of the device. The resolution is 1280×800 (16:10 aspect ratio), which leads to an effective of 640×800 per eye (4:5 aspect ratio). However, since the device does not feature a 100% overlap between the eyes, the combined horizontal resolution is effectively greater than 640. The image for each eye is shown in the panel as a barrel distorted image that is then corrected by pincushion effect created by lenses in the headset, generating a spherical-mapped image for each eye.

Initial prototypes used a Hillcrest Labs 3DoF head tracker that is normally 125 Hz, with a special firmware requested by John Carmack that makes it run at 250 Hz, tracker latency being vital due to the dependency of virtual reality's realism on response time. The latest version includes Oculus's new 1000 Hz Adjacent Reality Tracker, which aims to provide much lower latency tracking than almost any other tracker. It uses a combination of three-axis gyros, accelerometers, and magnetometers, which make it capable of absolute (relative to Earth) head orientation tracking without drift.

The Development Kit 1 also included interchangeable lenses that aim to allow for simple dioptric correction.

The entire source for the Rift DK1 was released to the public in September 2014, including the firmware, schematics, and mechanicals for the device. The firmware is released under a simplified BSD license, while the schematics and mechanicals are released under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

HD and Crystal Cove prototypes

In June 2013, a prototype of the Rift that used a 1080p LCD panel was shown at Electronic Entertainment Expo. This step forwards to twice the number of pixels as DK1 significantly reduced the screen door effect and made objects in the virtual world more clear, especially at a distance. The poor resolution had been the main criticism of the DK1.

This HD prototype is the only prototype of the Rift shown to the public which did not turn into a publicly available developer kit.

In January 2014, an updated prototype codenamed "Crystal Cove" was unveiled at Consumer Electronics Show, which used a special low-persistence of vision OLED display as well as a new motion tracking system that utilized an external camera to track infrared dots located on the headset. The new motion tracking system would allow the system to detect actions such as leaning or crouching, which was claimed to help alleviate sickness experienced by users when the software did not respond to these actions.

Development Kit 2

The Development Kit 2

Oculus began shipping Development Kit 2 (DK2) in July 2014. This is a small refinement of the "Crystal Cove" prototype, featuring several key improvements over the first development kit, such as having a higher-resolution (960×1080 per eye) low-persistence OLED display, higher refresh rate of 75 Hz, positional tracking, a detachable cable, and the omission of the need for the external control box.

A teardown of DK2 revealed that it incorporates a modified Samsung Galaxy Note 3 smartphone display, including the front panel from the device itself.

In February 2015, Oculus announced that over 100,000 DK2 units had been shipped up until that point.

Crescent Bay prototype

In September 2014, Oculus once again presented an updated version of the Rift, codenamed Crescent Bay. This version has a greater resolution than the DK2, a lower weight, built-in audio, and 360-degree tracking thanks to the presence of tracking LEDs in the back of the headset. Oculus has also licensed software library RealSpace3D, which is expected to provide the Rift with HRTF and reverb algorithms. During a panel at SXSW 2015, titled "Explore the Future of VR", it was publicly announced for the first time that the prototype uses two screens instead of one as previously thought.

First consumer version

Main article: Oculus Rift CV1
Oculus Rift, sometimes referred to as "Consumer Version 1" or "CV1"

Oculus VR announced on May 6, 2015, that the consumer version of the Rift would ship in the first quarter of 2016, and on March 25, 2016, the first batch of headsets began shipping to consumers.

In January, 2016, Oculus announced that backers of the original Kickstarter who had pledged $275 or more—roughly 7,500 users—would be gifted a free Oculus Rift kit, including the new headset, a game controller, and two VR games.

The consumer version is an improved version of the Crescent Bay Prototype, featuring per-eye displays with a 1080×1200 resolution, running at 90 Hz, 360-degree positional tracking, integrated audio, a vastly increased positional tracking volume, and a heavy focus on consumer ergonomics and aesthetics.

In March 2019, during the announcement of the Rift S, it was said that the Rift S would replace the original Rift. However, Oculus VR stated that they planned to support the CV1 with software updates for "the foreseeable future".

Rift S

Main article: Oculus Rift S

On May 21, 2019, Oculus began shipping a new VR headset known as Rift S. The Rift S has a 1,280 ×1,440 LCD @ 80 Hz and slightly larger field of view than that of the CV1, but lacks mechanical IPD adjustment (IPD adjustment is software-only). The Rift S tracks the position of itself and its controllers in 3D space using a system known as Oculus Insight, which uses the 5 cameras on the HMD to track points in the environment and infrared LEDs on the controllers, information from accelerometers in both the HMD and controllers, and computer vision to predict what path the HMD and controllers are most likely to take. The Rift S uses a DisplayPort 1.2 port and one USB 3.0 port, as opposed to the HDMI and USB 3.0 port used on the Rift CV1. The Rift S targeted the same price point (USD$399) and hardware requirements as the Rift CV1, and has replaced the Rift CV1 since.

During September 2020, it was announced that the Rift S would be discontinued in 2021 in order for Oculus to focus on the Oculus Quest 2. In 2021, the Rift S was officially discontinued and was no longer available on the Oculus website, effectively ending the Rift line.

Software

Runtime

The Oculus Rift runtime officially supports Microsoft Windows, macOS, and Linux. The installation package includes components such as the headset driver (which includes Oculus Display driver and controller drivers), Positional Tracking Sensor driver, Oculus Service, and Oculus Home Application. The runtime service implements a number of processing techniques intended to minimize latency and in addition improve the smoothness of VR applications under weaker hardware. These include direct mode, asynchronous timewarp, and asynchronous spacewarp.

Oculus Home

When the user puts on the Rift and no other content is being outputted to the headset, they are presented with Oculus Home. This is the default environment of the Rift, which presents them with a loft environment and a floating menu, allowing the user to launch VR applications they own, see if their friends are using the Rift, and purchase virtual reality content on the Oculus Home store from the headset.

An update to the base software, called Core 2.0, introduced a more interactive default environment, allowing the user to navigate and customize it with imported 3D models. However in 2023, Meta, formerly known as Oculus, closed Oculus Home and killed it off.

Oculus Store

Oculus maintains a market place for applications for the headsets. The listings are curated to only allow applications that run smoothly on the recommended hardware. Most listings are also rated on their comfort level based on their likelihood of causing motion sickness or number of jump scares. However, developers do not have to use Oculus Home to distribute content for the Rift, this being entirely optional. The Store can be accessed from the VR-based Oculus Home, from its desktop app, or on the Oculus web site under the section "Experiences."

Features

Listings on the registry include:

  • Age and content ratings
  • Comfort rating: "comfortable", "moderate", "intense" (assigned by Oculus)
  • User ratings and reviews: user can give a rating on a 5-star scale and write a review

SDK

Content for the Rift is developed using the Oculus PC SDK, a free proprietary SDK available for Microsoft Windows (OSX and Linux support is planned for the future). This is a feature complete SDK which handles for the developer the various aspects of making virtual reality content, such as the optical distortion and advanced rendering techniques.

The Oculus SDK is directly integrated with the popular game engines Unity 5, Unreal Engine 4, and Cryengine. This allows for developers already familiar with these engines to create VR content with little to no VR-specific code.

The Rift is an open platform, and thus developers do not need any approval or verification to develop, distribute, or sell content for it, and do not have to pay any licensing fees. The SDK, however, cannot be modified or reused for other purposes or hardware without permission.

Content developed for the Development Kit 2 using SDK version 0.8 or above are compatible with the Rift; however, content developed for the Development Kit 1 or with older versions of the SDK will have to be recompiled using the latest SDK version to be compatible.

On December 21, 2015, Oculus announced the release of their finalized Rift 1.0 SDK, combined with the start of shipping their final version of the Oculus Rift VR headset to developers.

At Oculus's 3rd annual conference (Oculus Connect 3), it announced the new technology, called "Asynchronous Spacewarp (ASW)". This technology allows the Rift to compensate for the dropped frames. According to Oculus, ASW reduces the minimum specs of a PC to run the Rift without any judder.

System requirements

In May 2015, Oculus VR announced "recommended" hardware specifications for computers utilizing Oculus Rift, specifying a CPU equivalent to an Intel Core i5-4590, at least 8GB of RAM, at least an AMD Radeon R9 290 or Nvidia GeForce GTX 970 graphics card, an HDMI 1.3 output, three USB 3.0 ports, and one USB 2.0 port. Oculus VR stated that these requirements would remain in force for the life of the first consumer model. The company also stated that while upcoming discrete GPUs for laptops may be able to reach the required performance for Oculus Rift, systems that switch between integrated and discrete graphics may not handle output in a manner that supports the device. Oculus Rift only supports 64-bit versions of Microsoft Windows 7 SP1 or later; Oculus VR stated that the device would initially support Windows only in order to focus on "delivering a highquality consumer-level VR experience"; support for Linux and macOS will be developed in the future.

A hardware testing application is available, and Oculus VR has also certified and promoted specific models of pre-built computers that meet these recommendations, from vendors such as Asus, Alienware and Dell Inc., as being "Oculus Ready".

On October 6, 2016, Oculus VR announced lessened hardware recommendations, now suggesting an Intel Core i3-6100 or AMD FX 4350 CPU, at least a GeForce GTX 960 or equivalent graphics card, two USB 3.0 ports and one USB 2.0 port, and Windows 8 or newer. The company stated that these lower requirements were enabled by the adoption of motion interpolation; on systems that cannot handle full 90 frames per second rendering, the drivers will allow software to render at 45 FPS instead, and generate frames based on differences between them to send to the headset to maintain its frame rate. Oculus promoted that these changes lowered the average hardware cost of a PC meeting these specifications to US$500 and would also enable certain laptops to run Oculus Rift.

In June 2018, Oculus VR updated its recommended OS spec to Windows 10. While Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 users would still be able to access the standard Rift experience, newer features and apps might require an upgrade to Windows 10.

Applications

Gaming

Main article: List of Oculus Rift games

Oculus has stated that the Rift is primarily a gaming device and that their main content focus is gaming.

Existing games with a first-person or fixed-camera perspective can be ported to VR with some development effort. However, Oculus has stated that the best virtual reality experiences are those that are designed, from the beginning, for the Rift.

A number of AAA games have added Rift support (and can be played with the Development Kit 2), including Project CARS, Elite: Dangerous, Euro Truck Simulator 2, and Dirt Rally, as well as a number of indie games such as AaAaAA!!! – A Reckless Disregard for Gravity and Ether One. Fans and hobbyists have also modded support for the Rift into several popular titles which allow for extensive low-level modding, including Minecraft and Flight Simulator X.

At the release event for the Rift in June 2015, Oculus announced 9 launch titles for the Rift, including EVE: Valkyrie by CCP and Edge of Nowhere by Insomniac Games. It also announced that it was working with other developers including Final Fantasy developer Square Enix, Rock Band developer Harmonix, and The Order: 1886 developer Ready at Dawn.

In July 2015, Oculus revealed that it was fully funding more than 20 second party high production value games made exclusively for the Rift, one of these being Insomniac's Edge of Nowhere.

In July 2017, Marvel announced in the Disney's D23 event that it will be bringing 12 superheroes of theirs to VR with an Oculus exclusive game called Powers United VR.

Non-gaming

Media

Oculus is including Oculus Cinema as a free application, which allows the Rift to be used to view conventional movies and videos from inside a virtual cinema environment, giving the user the perception of viewing the content on a cinema-sized screen. Oculus Cinema will also have a networked mode, in which multiple users can watch the same video in the same virtual space, seeing each other as avatars and being able to interact and talk to one another while watching the video.

The Rift also offers the opportunity to view new types of media that are impossible to view on regular monitors; 360° 3D videos and 'virtual reality movies' (an entirely new medium).

Spherical videos (commonly called 360° videos) can be viewed simply by the user moving their head around, and the Rift opens up the possibility for stereoscopic spherical videos (commonly called 360° 3D videos). In September 2014, NextVR announced that they would be using a $200,000 camera rig to produce 360° 3D content for the Rift, including short films, as well as live streaming live events such as sports or concerts in 360° 3D. In July 2015, Oculus announced a deal with Canadian film company Felix & Paul Studios to produce 360° 3D videos for the Rift.

The Rift also supports a new medium of entertainment experiences, which Oculus calls "virtual reality movies". Oculus has established Oculus Story Studio to develop this type of content for the Rift, a team which has multiple former employees from major VFX companies such as PIXAR and ILM. Oculus Story Studio showed off its first VR movie, Lost, at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival, gaining positive reviews from attendees.

The studio intends to have 5 VR shorts released with the Rift at launch, including Lost, Bullfighter, Henry, Dear Angelica, and Kabloom.

Social

A visitor at Mozilla Berlin Hackshibition trying an Oculus Rift virtual reality experience on Firefox

Oculus believes that social applications will be the most popular virtual reality experiences in the long term. A number of social applications for the Rift are in development, and it is expected that there will be significant competition in the sector.

In May 2015, AltspaceVR launched a public beta for DK2 owners to try out their social VR platform. AltspaceVR allows people to inhabit a shared virtual space with spatial voice communications, cast content from the Internet on virtual screens, and interact with objects (allowing activities such as playing chess or other board games). It also supports extra hardware like eye tracking and body tracking.

In 2013, Philip Rosedale, the founder of Second Life, left Linden Lab to work on a new virtual world designed for the Rift, called High Fidelity, which will link thousands of user-hosted virtual environments together into a consistent virtual world.

In May 2015, Linden Lab, the company behind Second Life, announced that they too were working on a new virtual world, codenamed Project Sansar, built for virtual reality headsets such as the Rift and Gear VR. Like Second Life, Sansar will be hosted on Linden's servers and lease virtual land to players, on which they can build and sell virtual items and services (which Linden will take a cut of). Linden Lab hoped to release Sansar by the end of 2016.

Industrial and professional

As well as the consumer uses, the Rift has attracted significant interest from industry and professional spheres for productivity enhancement, visualization, and advertising.

A number of architecture firms have been experimenting with using the Rift for visualization and design. With the right software, the Rift allows architects to see exactly what their building will look like and get an understanding of the scale that is impossible on a traditional monitor.

In early 2015, Audi started using Rift Developer Kit 2's at dealerships to help customers configure the car they are interested in, as well as to see what driving a race in the car would be like.

The Norwegian Army has been experimenting with the Rift Development Kit 2 to allow for a greater situational awareness of armoured vehicle drivers and commanders.

The use of Oculus Rift on an innovative virtual operator station assists the control of a teleoperated military mobile robot Tactical Robotic System (TAROS). Human operators can have intuitive control and mediate 3D view from stereovision cameras.

Oculus Medium is a Painting Experience for Oculus Rift.

Education

A library workstation with an Oculus Rift

The Oculus Rift is increasingly used in universities and schools as an educational tool. The ability to provide an immersive, engaging environment can assist a diverse range of students for learning. In particular, there appears to be benefits to medical, health science and exercise students when utilising the Oculus Rift as a supplement for content provided in anatomy and physiology. There is also increasing use of the Oculus Rift within curricula in other fields such as marketing, architecture, clinical education., computer science and paramedics

Television

In October 2016, the television series Halcyon was released as a "virtual reality series", where some episodes are broadcast on conventional television. and some as VR content for Oculus Rift. It is a crime drama following the world's first "VR Crimes Unit" in 2048.

Sports

Fox Sports began producing content for the Oculus Rift and other virtual reality systems in fall 2016. Its initial content consisted mainly of Fox College Football coverage.

Casinos

Some online casinos have started using Oculus Rift to provide a unique online casino experience, allowing the user to play slots and experience the lobby of a casino through their VR headset.

ZeniMax/Facebook lawsuits

Main article: ZeniMax v. Oculus

ZeniMax Media, the parent company of Bethesda Softworks, which in turn owns Id Software, presented a lawsuit against Facebook, claiming the Oculus Rift was the product of intellectual property owned by ZeniMax, developed by John Carmack during his time working for Id Software. The jury ruled partially in favor of ZeniMax, finding the defendants did not steal trade secrets but had violated a non-disclosure agreement. Facebook and some of the Oculus corporate officers were ordered to pay a total of US$500 million. On March 10, 2017, it was revealed that Carmack was suing ZeniMax for US$22.7 million it owed him from their purchase of Id Software.

Reception

The Oculus Rift received generally positive reviews. The Verge felt that the Rift was a "remarkably well-made and accessible device", describing its hardware design as having succeeded in "mak something so stereotypically geeky look (relatively) natural", and the headset itself as being "lighter and more comfortable than most of its competition" once properly fitted to the user's head. Its displays were considered to be "bright and relatively clear", albeit grainy in appearance. The Rift was panned for not offering its own motion controller at launch like the HTC Vive, and that the lack of support for room-scale experiences with a single camera led to games where VR support " like an addition, not a transformation". However, the reviewer felt that the Rift's launch titles marked the first time they had played any VR game that could "rival a decently made non-VR computer game for polish and scope", and the Vive and then-upcoming Oculus Touch controllers showed a bigger potential for VR than the largely stationary experiences the Rift offered at launch. It was argued that, while acknowledging the cost limitations of the headset and the necessary computing hardware, and its "relentless" focus on gaming, the Oculus Rift "makes a good case for seated VR, and it lays a solid foundation for what's to come.

In a post-launch review, PCMag felt that the Oculus Touch controllers, improved support for room-scale experiences, and a recent price cut to US$399 made the Rift "more appealing than the more expensive HTC Vive", concluding that it "produces an immersive, crisp virtual reality experience that will continue to improve with the development of new software, which has been steadily coming out on both the Oculus store and SteamVR."

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