Facebook stopped accepting new orders for Oculus Quest this week and expects an impact by the Coronavirus on production of the standalone headset.
Here’s the statement from a Facebook spokesperson:
“Oculus Quest has been selling out in some regions due to high demand. That said, like other companies we’re expecting some additional impact to our hardware production due to the Coronavirus. We’re taking precautions to ensure the safety of our employees, manufacturing partners and customers, and are monitoring the situation closely. We are working to restore availability as soon as possible.”
We’ve been following supply of Oculus Quest for months as a combination of new features and game announcements seemed to affect demand for the all-in-one VR headset near the end of 2019. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg recently said sales of the headset are “stronger than we expected” as the company saw orders for the device backordered into March. This week, however, Facebook said on its main website the device was completely unavailable in some countries.
For those unfamiliar, Oculus Quest starts at $400 and includes everything needed to jump into VR. It works wirelessly with fantastic games like Beat Saber, Superhot and Pistol Whip but also can connect over a USB 3 cord to a compatible PC to play PC VR games. In December, Facebook launched experimental hand tracking for the device allowing developers to build software projects that respond to finger movements and hand gestures — no controllers needed.
The World Health Organization offers advice to the public to protect themselves and others from the “Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV)” including washing your hands frequently, covering your mouth with a flexed elbow or tissue and maintaining space of around 1 meter between yourself and people who are coughing.
We’ll provide updates as this news develops.
