If generating $2.4 million on a Kickstarter campaign weren’t enough, Oculus today announced that they raised an additional $16 million in a Series A funding round led by Spark Capital, Matrix Partners, Founders Fund, and Formation 8. Irvine, CA-based Oculus confirmed the funding in a blog post today.
All of this money will be poured into developing the first viable virtual reality headset, the Oculus Rift, for video games. In addition to heightening their hardware, Oculus will be will be funding new titles for the VR unit to extend the reach of their entertainment beyond Half Life 2, Team Fortress 2, Museum of the Microstar, and Tuscany Razer Hydra.
“I got into VR because it seemed like the obvious path to the best possible gaming experience,” says founder Palmer Luckey in his blog post. “Even with the next generation consoles on the horizon, VR still came away with dozens of awards and accolades at E3, 2013.”
Aside from the platform and game development, Oculus will be able to establish a major footprint in the virtual reality market by hiring amazing new employees while having the freedom to experiment with prototypes moving forward.
Rift is not yet commercially available, and no release date has been set in stone. However, we do know that when it is ultimately released, it will be available for $300. If the price tag does not grab your attention, perhaps the 720p and 1080p viewing definition will.
