Facebook is set to purchase Oculus VR, a virtual reality headset company best known for its Oculus Rift gaming device, in an unexpected $2 billion dollar deal expected to close in the second quarter of this year
Oculus makes the Oculus Rift, a virtual reality headset originally funded on Kickstarter.
Though Oculus’s endeavors so far have focused on gaming, Facebook said in a press release that it intends to extend the use of the technology to communications, media and other forms of entertainment. Oculus has received 75,000 orders for development kits for its Rift headset thus far.
“Mobile is the platform of today, and now we’re also getting ready for the platforms of tomorrow,” Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a company release. “Oculus has the chance to create the most social platform ever, and change the way we work, play and communicate.”
The deal includes $400 million in cash and $1.6 billion in Facebook stock, as well as an additional $300 million if Oculus meets certain performance targets. Oculus will remain headquartered in Irvine, Calif. and continue developing the Oculus Rift. The deal is expected to close in the second quarter of 2014.