Looking to calm backers worried over Facebook's $2 billion acquisition of Oculus VR, Palmer Luckey, creator of the Oculus Rift virtual reality headset, took to Reddit. Responding to criticism of the deal, Luckey promised "[Oculus] won't change."
"I won't change, and any change at Oculus will be for the better," Luckey said. "We have even more freedom than we had under our investment partners because Facebook is making a long term play on the success of VR, not short-term returns."
"A lot of people are upset, and I get that. If you feel the same way a year from now, I would be very surprised."
Luckey went on to explain that the deal will "definitely make things better." For instance, the added financial backing should allow Oculus to properly support indie devs, something that Luckey calls a "personal goal" of his.
The deal, Luckey said, gives Oculus "more freedom to make the right decisions," whether that be hiring additional staff or exploring a direction that might otherwise would have not been possible. Whatever the new direction may be, Luckey assured it will not involve tracking you, flashing ads at you, or "do[ing] anything invasive. And no, you won't have to log into Facebook when you use the Rift.
Unfortunately, some have been a little quick to react to Facebook's purchase of Oculus. Well-known indie developer Markus 'Notch' Persson has already canceled the deal that would've brought a simplified Minecraft to the Oculus Rift. He justified his decision in a lengthy blog post in which he called Facebook "creepy."
[Reddit]
