Oculus is giving a boost to virtual reality gamers with the release of achievements for the Rift and Gear VR.
New achievement functionality will soon be added to the Oculus Rift and Samsung Gear VR headsets, as reported by The Verge. The change will be added in an update to Oculus Home, and will roll out between now and “the next few weeks”. Some of the games supporting the feature at launch include Minecraft, Hitman Go, and Anshar Wars 2 – more developers will be “adding them in the future”.
Once the feature goes live, you’ll be able to see which achievements your friends have unlocked. If you’re concerned about privacy then fear not: you can opt out of public achievements, so no one can see how much time you’ve spent racking up Minecraft achievements.
It’s worth noting that this update is only for Oculus Home, so if you’re launching Oculus Rift games via Steam then this isn’t particularly exciting news for you.
The Oculus Rift was released on March 28 this year, and retails at £549 in the UK. That said, you’ll also need a high-powered gaming PC to power the Rift, so the actual cost of using Rift VR is significantly higher than the retail price.
The Samsung Gear VR, meanwhile, is a far more budget-friendly option. The original Gear VR launched in 2015, but has since been succeeded by a new USB-C version that launched alongside the Galaxy Note 7. The Gear VR works by docking a Samsung Galaxy smartphone that acts as the display, which brings the price down to just £80 – far cheaper than the Rift, but (unsurprisingly) less powerful.
Related: Best VR Headset 2016
Watch: PlayStation VR – Everything you need to know
Do you own a VR headset yet? Tell us why or why not in the comments 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.
