It’s been on the cards for a couple of months now but with the launch of Oculus Quest 2 tomorrow the inevitable has begun, Facebook accounts now being required to log into an Oculus headset.
So what does this mean exactly? Well to begin with this system will only affect either new users or those who’ve bought an Oculus Quest 2. Fall into the first category – on any Oculus headset – and you’ll automatically have to log in with a Facebook account. If you don’t have one you’ll need to create one as well.
If you’re an existing Oculus owner, whether that’s from a Gear VR, Oculus Go, Rift/Rift S or Quest, when you receive your Oculus Quest 2 you’ll then be prompted to merge your Oculus account with a Facebook one, using that going forward. While the company states that: “this change will make it possible to integrate many Facebook-powered social features,” you do still control how you appear in VR, having a gamer name rather than your real one and changing the Oculus privacy settings to ‘Only Me’ should you wish to avoid VR players searching for you by your Facebook name.
As for those existing users on those aforementioned headsets, there’s no need to merge accounts until 1st January 2023, which is when Facebook discontinues Oculus account support. This won’t suddenly mean you can’t use the software you’ve bought but it’ll affect full functionality. While light on specifics Facebook has said it’ll: “take steps to allow you to keep using content you have purchased,” but “we expect some games and apps may no longer work.”
All in an effort to help streamline your VR experience when using an Oculus headset there are some notable concerns with the policy. To start with, there are going to be those that don’t want a Facebook account in the first place, automatically pushing them away from the Oculus platform. The other is about loss of access. If you have problems accessing your account or worse fall foul of Facebook’s Community Standards or Conduct in VR Policy then you won’t be able to use the headset.
Facebook has dominated VR thanks to continual investment and this policy looks to be the most divisive yet, but it could benefit other headset makers. As this continues to unfold, VRFocus will keep you updated.
via Mint VR