Social networking giant Facebook has announced that it has purchased California-based virtual reality firm Oculus VR in a deal worth $2bn (£1.2bn).
The virtual reality company has recently released a VR headset known as Oculus Rift, which is a goggle-shaped piece of equipment to be used with video games and is believed to have had 75,000 orders so far, despite the fact that it is not yet on the market.
The CEO of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, announced to news suppliers that Oculus’ technology could “change the way we work, play and communicate”, before going on to highlight that his company plans to:
“…expand the use of Oculus technologies to include communications, media and entertainment, education and other areas.”
Brendan Iribe, the CEO of Oculus VR, has described this new venture as:
“…one of the most important moments for virtual reality that gives us the best shot at truly changing the world.”
This comes after a blog post written by the VR company, which states:
“Facebook understands the potential for VR and shares the company’s vision for VR to transform the way we learn, share, play and communicate.”
The deal is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2014, with Oculus employees receiving bonuses estimated to be around $300m (£181m) if the company reaches certain targets.
This announcement comes just weeks after the deal that saw the social media site purchase mobile messaging service WhatsApp for £11 billion, making Facebook an increasingly crucial part of any internet marketing campaign.
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