Remember what Mark Zuckerberg said when Facebook bought Oculus for a cool two billion bucks? No? Well allow us to refresh your memories…
“Oculus has the chance to create the most social platform ever, and change the way we work, play and communicate,” he vowed on that fateful, industry-shifting day back in March 2014.
Today, we got another example of what the crown prince of social media meant by that statement.
Oculus has announced that Gear VR owners can now livestream their gaming experiences directly to the News Feeds of their Facebook friends with the touch of a button.
Related: Oculus Rift vs HTC Vive
Not only will the action appear as a 360-degree video, Gear VR users will also be able to narrate it, judging by a video posted to YouTube on Friday. We’ve reached out to Oculus for confirmation on that front.
In a blog post, The Oculus Team explained: “Whether you want to share the suspense of Face Your Fears or show off your sorcery skills in Wands, you can take your friends along for the ride. Just select the “Livestream to Facebook” button from the Universal Menu when you’re in VR, and you’ll instantly start livestreaming to your friends on Facebook.”
The functionality is available to Gear VR owners outside the United States today, with a rollout promised Stateside in the coming weeks.
Elsewhere in the blog, Oculus announced new Voice Search capabilities for both the Rift and the Gear VR.
“This feature lets you perform voice searches from Oculus Home to intuitively navigate games, apps, and experiences,” the company said.
It also announced Oculus Rooms 1.2, which enables users to watch 360-degree videos with friends, and Oculus Events, which helps folks find public events and interact with others in VR.
All-in-all, a host of very social updates that’ll get you doing the things that encouraged Zuck to pry open the Facebook cash vault three years ago.
Head-to-Head: Should You Buy a VR Headset?
Is the future of VR social? Or would you prefer to disappear into your own reality without having to deal with people you see in the real world? Share your thoughts below.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
