A nnounced yesterday–March 25–in a press release , Facebook has reached an agreement to acquire Oculus VR, the developer of the Oculus Rift, for approximately $2 billion dollars in total. This amount of money includes $400 million in cash and 23.1 million shares of Facebook common stock. If certain milestones are achieved, the agreement will provide for an additional $300 million earn-out in cash and stock.
“Mobile is the platform of today, and now we’re also getting ready for the platforms of tomorrow,” said Facebook founder and CEO, Mark Zuckerberg. “Oculus has the chance to create the most social platform ever, and change the way we work, play and communicate.”
Facebook plans to expand on the Oculus Rift’s prevalence in the gaming industry and take it to new heights, including communications, media, entertainment, education and more. The company believes that the Oculus Rift is a strong candidate to spearhead the next social and communication platform.
“We are excited to work with Mark and the Facebook team to deliver the very best virtual reality platform in the world,” said Brendan Iribe, co-founder and CEO of Oculus VR. “We believe virtual reality will be heavily defined by social experiences that connect people in magical, new ways. It is a transformative and disruptive technology, that enables the world to experience the impossible, and it’s only just the beginning.”
Oculus VR will still stay at its headquarters in Irvine, CA, and will continue its development of the Oculus Rift. The transition to Facebook is to be expected to close in Q2 of this year.
According to Oculus VR, the Oculus Rift will be something that “ pretty much anyone can afford ” once it gets its commercial release. The developer has also joined the Immersive Technology Alliance , a group that is doing its best to bring virtual reality technology into the household.