After the Oculus co-founder Palmer Luckey was somewhat pessimistic about the integration of social apps and virtual reality (Facebook, Oculus and the Future of VR), corporate reality has already caught up with Oculus. This week, the firm announced the release of social functionality on the Samsung VR powered by Oculus. The user will be able create a profile and search for others on the platform, by either their name or Oculus username.
A new social trivia game will be coming soon, as well as the ability to create chat rooms with friends in Oculus Social. A new multiplayer game is also available from the Oculus app store.
Oculus is also adding a Facebook Video tab in their Oculus Video app that allows the VR users to view 360° videos and soon will also be able to share such videos directly from the Oculus platform. A new set of development tools will be released later this month to enable developers to create new social VR games and apps. Oculus continues with “Virtual reality will continue to drive deeper social connections”, a clear sign about what Facebook is planning for Oculus. – NH
