March 26, 2014: ‘Facebook has signed a $2billion deal to acquire Oculus, the leader in virtual reality technology,’ Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook, posted this on his official facebook page.
Oculus has already developed its new virtual reality gadget known as the ‘Oculus Rift headset’. On wearing this headset , the user enters a completely immersive computer-generated environment, like a game or a movie scene or a place far away.
Forbes also reported, ‘This also includes $400 million in cash and 23.1 million shares of Facebook stock. There’s also an additional $300 million potential earn-out in cash and stock based on the achievement of certain milestones.’
Commenting on this tie-up, Zuckerberg stated, ‘This deal will help Facebook to explore the gaming platform as well. By feeling truly present, you can share unbounded spaces and experiences with the people in your life. Imagine sharing not just moments with your friends online, but entire experiences and adventures. ‘
Facebook intends to focus on helping Oculus build out their product and develop partnerships to support more games. Oculus will continue operating independently within Facebook to achieve this. ‘After expanding our scope in the game market as well, we're going to encourage Oculus to enable its users to enjoy several user- friendly environment like a court side seat at a game, studying in a classroom of students and teachers all over the world or consulting with a doctor face to face, just by putting on goggles in your home,’ stated the Zuckerberg’s Facebook post.
Facebook's mission is to make the world more open and connected. For the past few years, this has mostly meant building mobile apps that help you share with the people you care about. 'We have a lot more to do on mobile, but at this point we feel we're in a position where we can start focusing on what platforms will come next to enable even more useful, entertaining and personal experiences,' added Zuckerberg.
‘These are just some of the potential uses. By working with developers and partners across the industry, together we can build many more. One day, we believe this kind of immersive, augmented reality will become a part of daily life for billions of people,’ concluded Zuckerberg.
