After three years in the making, Oculus Rift will soon be on sale for consumers everywhere.
Oculus Rift announced in a blog post on Wednesday that the company will begin selling and shipping the VR device to the public during Q1 of 2016. Unlike past versions of the device, this will be the official Oculus Rift.
At the moment, little is known about what the final Oculus Rift will be like. Oculus says it will be closely based on the most recent Crescent Bay prototype, which means it should be "drastically lighter, smaller and more comfortable than previous developer kits, and come complete with integrated headphones and positional audio" reports Gizmodo.
There are also reports of a tracking system that will determine if a user is sitting or standing as well as what Oculus describes as "a highly refined industrial design, and updated ergonomics for a more natural fit."
What is known is that Oculus will reveal more details about Rift over the next few weeks, including software and hardware specs, input information, as well as the official games and "experiences" that the device will offer.
While this is a massive development for gamers and users who are interested in virtual reality, Oculus isn't the first one to start selling virtual reality headsets. Both Sony and Valve Corporation have developed their own headsets, and already have release dates for them. Only time will determine which headset really stands out and succeeds.
Overall, Oculus Rift has one of the more interesting stories from the world of virtual reality development. The device was first able to raise almost $2.5 million in support its development back in 2012. It spent the next three years becoming a key part of gaming development and virtual reality research, and has gone through some major technological changes. The Rift was a common sight at many tech and gaming conferences.
Oculus says that customers will be able to pre-order the new Rift headset at a later date.
