14 DAY TRIAL // Social network Facebook announces that it is acquiring the Oculus Rift virtual reality company for a total sum of about 2 billion dollars (1.55 billion Euro), with a portion delivered in cash and the rest coming as shares in the company.
Mark Zuckerberg, the leader of Facebook, explains that, "Mobile is the platform of today, and now we're also getting ready for the platforms of tomorrow. Oculus has the chance to create the most social platform ever, and change the way we work, play and communicate."
So far, Oculus Rift has not launched a consumer product, although the company revealed an updated version of its development kit during the Game Developers Conference.
The virtual reality platform allows gamers to explore entire worlds with an unprecedented level of immersion.
The chief executive officer of the company, Brendan Iribe, explains that virtual reality can connect people and that he looks forward to working with Facebook to realize the entire potential of his product.
It's unclear whether the acquisition will change the launch schedule for the consumer version of the Oculus Rift, which is expected before the end of the year.
Sony is also currently working on a virtual reality headset for the PlayStation 4, called Project Morpheus.