Facebook account is required with upcoming Oculus headsets

Facebook will stop supporting Oculus accounts from 2023. The company wants users to merge their Oculus account with a Facebook account. A Facebook account is mandatory with all future headsets.

Starting October this year, anyone using an Oculus device for the first time will have to log in with a Facebook account, Oculus writes. Currently it is possible to do that with an Oculus account and users do not need to have a Facebook account to take full advantage of the vr headsets.

Existing users using an Oculus headset with an Oculus account can continue to do so until the end of 2022. On January 1, 2023, support for Oculus accounts will end. According to the company, the headsets will still work without logging in, but users may lack functionality or certain software will no longer work. Oculus, which is part of Facebook, wants users to link their existing account to a Facebook account and log in with it from now on.

Oculus also announces that a Facebook account is required for all future hardware. The company is expected to release a new version of the Quest headset in the coming months, so a Facebook account will be required for that. Even people who already have an Oculus account must use a Facebook account after purchasing new hardware.

Users can create a vr profile within their Facebook account and optionally set their real name to be hidden from Oculus friends. Oculus also wants to make it possible for multiple users to log in to one device later on. That should make sharing a VR headset with, for example, family members easier.

Last year, social features were already released for Oculus headsets that can only be used in combination with a Facebook account. Facebook acquired Oculus in 2014. Since 2017, various leaders have left the VR company. Founder Palmer Lucky left first, and two co-founders also left in 2018 and 2019.