Oculus VR turns publisher to encourage game development

By David Nield December 21, 2013

oculus vr turns publisher encourage game development — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Fresh from its most recent $75 million round of funding, Oculus VR has announced plans to create a publishing arm to develop software for its virtual reality headsets. In a blog post on the company’s site, Oculus VR introduced incoming team member David De Martini, who will be spearheading new partnerships with developers.

“One of the key components for truly awe-inspiring virtual reality is great content,” runs part of the blog post. “One of our long-time, favorite ideas has been to actually fund and publish Oculus games, applications, and experiences ourselves by providing additional support and resources for key developers building the games and content that we believe will define the platform.”

De Martini, who takes on the new role of Head of WorldWide Publishing, has extensive previous experience with Electronic Arts, where he worked on titles such as NASCAR, Tiger Woods PGA Tour and the Crysis series. De Martini also worked for EA Partners, the company’s publishing division, in a role that’s similar to the one he’ll be taking on at Oculus VR.

For now there are no specific details of how developers can take advantage of the reorganisation, but Oculus VR is promising “new opportunities for key developers for direct support from Oculus, and ultimately, more great content on the Oculus platform.” After all, a state-of-the-art 3D virtual reality headset can only keep your attention for so long without some compelling software to go along with it.

The company’s recent $75 million shot-in-the-arm should ensure that the Oculus Rift successfully graduates from prototype to full retail product within the next 12 months. For the time being, the headset is only available in prototype form from the official website. While no specific launch date has been set, 2014 seems like a good bet.

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Dave is a freelance journalist from Manchester in the north-west of England. He's been writing about technology since the…

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