Those who wish to use an Oculus device will soon be forced to have a Facebook account to connect to their VR profile.
Starting in October, the Facebook-owned company will require its users to sign in through the social media and merge any existing Oculus accounts with accounts from Facebook. Starting in January 2023, all unmerged Oculus accounts will be closed.
Anyone using an Oculus device for the first time will need a Facebook account to proceed.
"If you are an existing user and choose not to merge your accounts, you can continue to use your Oculus account for two years," Oculus said in a post announcing all of the above.
“If you choose not to merge your accounts at that time, you can continue to use your device, but full functionality will require a Facebook account. We will take steps to allow you to continue using content you have purchased, although we expect some games and apps may no longer work.”
Oculus said that some games and apps may no longer work because they include features that require a Facebook account.
"All future unreleased Oculus devices will require a Facebook account, even if you already have an Oculus account," he continued.
Oculus believes this will make it easier to find, connect, and play with friends in VR.
“We know that social VR has a lot to offer, and this change will allow us to integrate many of the features people know and love on Facebook,” the post said. “It will also allow us to introduce more multiplayer and social experiences on Facebook.”
With user privacy always at the forefront of Zuckerberg's empire, users can choose what information about their VR activity is published to Facebook, Oculus said.
“Using a VR profile backed by a Facebook account and authentic identity helps us protect community and enables us to offer additional integrity tools,” the post said. “For example, instead of having a separate Oculus Code of Conduct, we will adopt Facebook’s Community Standards as well as a new additional policy focused on VR.”
Oculus said that when a user logs in using a Facebook account, Facebook will use information related to their use of VR and other Facebook products to “provide and improve your experience.” It will also be used to show personalized content to the user, including ads.
Facebook this year is stopping sales of the Oculus Go, the low-end virtual reality headset that provides 3DOF tracking.
It said it was abandoning the relatively inexpensive device because users have made it clear “that 6DOF is like the future of VR,” the company said in June.
Oculus was acquired by Facebook in March 2014, for approximately $2 billion.
