Oculus announced a major, controversial change for new Oculus users: They need to have a Facebook account starting this fall.
Beginning in October, anyone using an Oculus device for the first time will have to log in with their Facebook account, according to Tuesday’s announcement.
Existing users have the option to merge their Oculus account with their Facebook accounts. But by January 2023, Oculus accounts will be disabled and everyone will have to go through their Facebook account. That means if you aren’t on Facebook or are thinking about getting rid of your Facebook because of its many privacy mishaps, you won’t be able to use an Oculus device.
“Giving people a single way to log into Oculus — using their Facebook account and password — will make it easier to find, connect, and play with friends in VR,” Oculus said in its announcement. “We know that social VR has so much more to offer, and this change will make it possible to integrate many of the features people know and love on Facebook. It will also allow us to introduce more Facebook powered multiplayer and social experiences coming soon in VR.”
The announcement was met with immediate backlash on Twitter, with users saying they wouldn’t be getting an Oculus device anymore.
https://twitter.com/theskybuscus/status/1295809817085435904?s=20
Seeing as Oculus is making us use Facebook logins, I think it's time to let go of my headset. I have three sensors, two controllers, headset, and box. Will ship.
— EXGEEAR (@EXGEEAR) August 18, 2020
What if you don't want to use facebook? This is a sure way to lose potential users and new sales… you will have to be forced to change this when this happens, mark my words. pic.twitter.com/XP3lbqRXgO
— ★𝓕ⲓꞅⲉⲂꞅⲁⲛⲀ★ (@Nemoticon) August 18, 2020
Facebook bought Oculus in 2014 for $2 billion, and it looks like the social network is working toward making the companies seamless by requiring a Facebook account for login.
Digital Trends reached out to Facebook to comment on Oculus’ new login requirements. We will update this story when we hear back.
It’s been a year of changes for Oculus after the company announced it would discontinue its Oculus Go VR headset in June. Oculus said it wants to focus on the Oculus Quest headset, which customers responded more positively to thanks to its six degrees of freedom (6DOF) capabilities.
