If you happen to own an Oculus virtual reality (VR) headset but lack a Facebook account for whatever reason, then you may want to consider creating one. Thanks to findings from Twitter user @CixLiv and website UploadVR, the social media giant will no longer support Oculus accounts starting 2023 and will require headset owners to log in via a Facebook account.
This is seen as a push to unify all of Oculus’ services into the social media company’s ecosystem, similar to the likes of Apple, Google and Microsoft. Facebook acquired the VR tech company back in March 2014 and have released several of Oculus’ headsets under its brand.
Boz gave me 3 clips of replies when everyone else got one, does this make me special? @hmltn @gemisisDev pic.twitter.com/E7kEAoZ8cK
— Ben Bega (@BenBega) October 16, 2020
When asked regarding Oculus’ VR headsets and services being tied to Facebook’s ecosystem, the company’s vice president of augmented and virtual reality Andrew Bosworth noted that the approach “is very common”. “They make you sign in with an account and there’s a reason for that,” he said during an online Q&A session. “We get to provide better services that way and stronger guarantees around things like data security, and compliance with regulations. So I’m a big fan of this move, even still.”
Users who have recently acquired an Oculus branded VR headset, such as the recently released Quest 2, are now required to sign in with a Facebook account in order to access its services. Existing owners, on the other hand, must ensure that their Oculus accounts are now linked to the social media platform prior to the 2023 deadline.
Important VR PSA: 👉 Deactivating your Facebook profile disables your Oculus Profile.
👉 Deleting your Facebook account takes away all your games, purchases, and progress.
Source: Eli Schwartz pic.twitter.com/dSJIcIf0ki— CIX ᯅ/acc (@cixliv) October 22, 2020
Additionally, headset owners who no longer wish to stay on the Facebook ecosystem will risk having all of their Oculus data and purchases. “Deleting your Facebook account will also delete your Oculus information,” the company warns, as pointed out by a screenshot shared by CixLiv. “This includes your app purchases and achievements. You will no longer be able to return any apps and will lose any existing store credits.”
It is worth noting that if you decide to deactivate your Facebook account instead, all of your Oculus data and purchases will only be disabled. These can be accessed again once you’ve reactivated the account.
