Oculus Rift Will Ship to Consumers in First Quarter of 2016

At long last, a release date!

It's been over two years since Oculus Rift captured the hearts and imagination (and over $2.4 million) of backers willing to pledge support for something billed as the "the first truly immersive virtual reality headset for video games." There's been a lot of movement in the VR space since then, as well as some skepticism (and anger) after Facebook acquired Oculus for $2 billion -- the idea of Candy Crush VR just didn't seem appealing to many folks. But the excitement remained, and after all this time, we finally have a launch date. Oculus Rift will be shipping to consumers in the first quarter of next year, Oculus VR announced today.

In the coming weeks, Oculus VR will reveal more information about the final hardware, software, input, and even some unannounced made-for-VR games and experiences coming to Oculus Rift. As for all the technical specifications, those will be revealed next week.

"Virtual reality is going to transform gaming, film, entertainment, communication, and much more," Oculus VR said in a blog post.

There have been several iterations of the Oculus Rift since it was announced, the most recent of which is dubbed Crescent Bay. It brought about numerous improvements over the Development Kit 2 model, including a higher resolution display (unspecified, though DK2 rocked a Full HD 1080p resolution, or 960x1080 per eye), 360-degree head tracking, expanded positional tracking volume, improved weight and ergonomics, integrated audio, and more.

It's a much more crowded field now than it was several years ago. Google, HTC, LG, Samsung, and Sony all have skin in the VR game, and there are a handful of up-and-comers as well. However, there's been so much hype and positive impressions posted about Oculus Rift that it's likely to see a flurry of pre-orders later this year.

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