Oculus just killed the Oculus Go to focus on Quest headset

(Image credit: Time to come)

The Oculus Go is to be discontinued past the end of 2020, according to an announcement past the manufacturer that will accept unfortunate consequences for entry-level VR users.

As explained in a blog post past Oculus (via TechRadar), sales of this affordable 2018 headset will exist coming to an cease this year, with no new features or apps being added afterward December iv, 2020. Existing owners of the Go will get security updates to their headset through to 2022 yet, meaning information technology'll remain safely usable for some time still. The weblog postal service also announced a new method to share Quest apps, which volition make it easier for developers to publish their content without going through Oculus curation showtime.

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The reason for this decision looks to be the success of the Oculus Quest, a more fully-featured headset that still retains the all-in-one convenience of the Become. The Quest uses Oculus' 'Insight' tracking organisation which offers six degrees-of-freedom (6DOF) to the Become's 3DOF, in essence head and body tracking instead of just head tracking.

The on-board processing ways that you don't need to plug the headset into a computer or insert a smartphone, which is far more convenient for both players and developers to work with.

This is bad news if you want a VR headset for something other than gaming. The $200 Oculus Become was aimed at a more full general audience, coming with a single controller that would let yous navigate through menus and video players easily, while also giving yous the immersive experience that defines VR.

Now that aforementioned group of people will either accept to stump up the extra cash to buy the $400 Quest, or look for other VR headsets elsewhere. Another affordable option is the PlayStation VR headset, merely that hardware requires you to own a PS4. Here'southward hoping the Oculus Quest gets a price cut in the coming months in order to bring more users into the fold.

Richard is a Tom's Guide staff writer based in London, covering news, reviews and how-tos for phones, gaming, audio and whatever else people need advice on. Following on from his MA in Magazine Journalism at the University of Sheffield, he'due south also written for WIRED U.K., The Register and Creative Bloq. When not at work, he'due south likely thinking nigh how to mash the perfect loving cup of specialty coffee.