Oculus Connect 3’s keynote held a lot of news today. We got expected announcements like the price and date of Oculus Touch and surprise reveals like Robo Recall. There was so much packed into the two hour event that you’re bound to have missed – or forgotten – a few intriguing bits of news.
Below, we’ve listed six things that are worth talking about again. From a surprisingly direct and dedicated approach to diversity to on-stage launches, there’s a lot of new info to process after today, but here’s some stuff you really shouldn’t forget.
Oculus Is Spending $10 Million To Aid Diversity in VR
Two years ago a panel of Oculus figureheads was asked where there weren’t more women at Oculus Connect. On stage this year, Ebony Peay Ramirez, Project Manager of Diversity at Oculus showcased the strides both the company and the industry is making in diversity. Ramirez announced that Oculus would be spending a further $10 million on diversity programs going forward.
Part of that money will be increase funding for the company’s launch pad and VR for Good initatives. It will also help create new programs like a diverse filmmakers project that will accelerate product of movies, documentaries and interactive experiences made by women and under represented groups.
Dragon Front’s Beta Is Now Open For All on Gear and Rift
Surprisingly, it was Gear VR that closed out the main section of today’s keynote. Producer Ruth Bram took to the stage to update us on titles coming to the platform. Among those name checked was Dragon Front, the popular tactical card game from High Voltage Software. It’s been in closed beta on Rift for a while now, but from today it’s in open beta.
That means anyone can now try the game for themselves for free. The title supports cross-device play, meaning Gear and Rift owners can face off against each other. We still don’t know when it will turn into a finished, premium experience, but make sure to use this time to decide if you’d actually want to buy it when it does.
There Are “Millions” Of Gear VR Owners
Earlier in the year we were told that over a million people had used Gear VR over the course of a month. Oculus didn’t confirm how many units were actually out there, however. Today, Head of Mobile Max Cohen stated that there are now “millions” of Gear VR owners.
That still doesn’t tell us how many units have been sold, it just gives us a very rough number of units belonging to both developers and consumers. It’s encouraging news all the same, and Cohen also confirmed that there are now over 400 individual apps on the store, which will be closer to 500 by the end of the year. There are also app developers from 55 different countries, making Gear a global platform.
The Developer of Left 4 Dead is Making VR Experiences
Turtle Rock Studios is best known for its Left 4 Dead games, developed in partnership with Valve, and its recent multiplayer monster hunter, Evolve. Somewhat surprisingly, the developer’s next projects won’t be big budget, AAA console games but two seemingly smaller experiences for the Gear VR.
One of these is Face Your Fears and is set to release this Halloween. It tries to creep you out with one experience where you are chased up the side of a skyscraper and another where you’re subjected to the terrors of a child’s bedroom. The team is also working on a meditative experience, Other Worlds, which wasn’t at the show. Perhaps we can expect bigger VR games from the developer in the future?
Gear VR is Getting Livestreaming to Facebook
Earlier this week we discovered that PlayStation VR players will be able to livestream their games, and soon Gear VR players will be able to do the same too. Soon users will be able to showcase their in-VR experiences on Facebook (other platforms TBC) and share them with friends who can react to them.
Anyone that tries this out will get a report to let them know how people responded to the video. The system sadly wasn’t confirmed for the Oculus Rift just yet, but this might be a proving ground for something much bigger. VR needs to be tap into the growing community of streamers out there, and now Minecraft: Gear VR Edition players will have a much easier way to get their content online.
Oculus Platform Is Getting Eight-User ‘Parties’ and ‘Rooms’
Facebook may have its own intriguing social VR apps, but Oculus is working on something pretty great too. Introduced by Lauren Vegter, Product Manager of Platforms, ‘Parties’ lets up to eight friends voice chat while in different VR experiences, while ‘Rooms’ is a virtual space in which they can meet up simply to hang out.
The latter experience also let’s you watch Facebook videos on a TV, listen to music and play minigames. You even can move between social apps like Dragon Front and Hulu. Both Parties and Rooms will be shipping to Gear in a few weeks and early next year on Rift.
