The Oculus Go will soon be no more.
Oculus announced today that it will no longer ship the Oculus Go -- what has been the best VR headset for budget shoppers since it debuted two years ago -- after this year.
Instead, Oculus will focus on the Oculus Quest as its standalone headset of choice. Both the Go and Quest are operable without being tethered to a gaming PC or smartphone and without the need for external base stations for tracking. However, the Quest allows for 6-degrees of freedom (6DOF) tracking, compared to the Go’s 3DOF. That means the Go doesn’t track when you’re walking around, which, admittedly, is a hindrance to the whole ‘immerse yourself in an alternate reality’ play.
“The community response has been overwhelmingly positive, and you’ve told us loud and clear that 6DOF feels like the future of VR,” Oculus said in a blog post today. “That’s why we’re going all-in, and we won’t be shipping any more 3DOF VR products.”
Those who already have the Go will still be able to enjoy Oculus security patches and bug fixes until 2022; however, the headset won’t see any new features or apps as of December 4.
It’s not surprising to see Oculus buckle down on the Quest. It’s the VR HMD we recommend most due to its balance of price and performance. From a business perspective, it’s already garnered Oculus over $100 million through content alone. Gaming in particular is doing well, with 10 games driving more than $2 million in revenue via the HMD.
However, it’s still sad to see a budget option leave VR. Many enthusiasts still aren’t willing or able to spend a lot on another tech platform, especially one that’s still in its earlier stages. The Quest is a good option for VR newcomers as it doesn’t require a powerful PC. But the Quest’s currently selling for $399, while the Go starts at $149. However, with Oculus soon to be focusing on one standalone headset instead of two, maybe we’ll see more consistent stock of the Quest.
Speaking of more readily available offerings, Oculus also announced changes for developers as of “early 2021” that should help with Quest app availability.
‘This will enable developers to share their apps to anyone with a Quest, without having to be accepted into the Oculus Store, and without the need for sideloading,” the blog explained.
The vendor didn’t get into further details but claimed this would help make the Quest accessible to more developers and give Go developers time to switch gears in favor of the Quest.
