While we’ve seen countless gaming and tech events pulled from being on-site events for 2020, it seems that Facebook has already started looking towards 2021. In a recent announcement, the company has stated that its popular Virtual Reality even, Oculus Connect 7 will now be an online digital event, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Here’s what Facebook Oculus had to say about the recent announcement:
Every year, Oculus Connect brings together developers, content creators, marketers, and more to celebrate the VR industry’s momentum and growth. In light of the evolving public health risks related to COVID-19, we’ve decided to shift Oculus Connect 7 to a digital format later this year.
This was a tough decision to make, but we need to prioritize the health and safety of our developer partners, employees, and everyone involved in OC7. Oculus Connect gives us an unprecedented opportunity to connect with our global developer community. OC7 will be no exception, and we look forward to sharing more details about the digital event in the coming months.
We remain committed to the city of San Jose, where we’ve hosted Oculus Connect in the past, and its community. As was done for F8, we’ll donate $500,000 and will prioritize organizations serving local San Jose residents.
Thanks for your patience and understanding. We’re excited to help the VR community come together in a digital format with OC7.
This marks the first event that has been postponed into 2021 and if things keep on the same course that we’re on now, it won’t be the last.
This could be interesting, especially for Oculus Rift and Quest owners. Maybe watch the event in your already owned VR headsets and perhaps Oculus can do something that makes the event interactive. I don’t know how you’d feel about this but I think that’s a nifty idea.
At the last Oculus Connect 6 event, the company announced hand tracking for the Oculus Quest, the impact that the Oculus Quest has had and yes, the Oculus Link. Zero news or updates about the Rift S and that made me very sad.
Currently, COVID-19 has forced the world to change, as we’ve all seen. Countless people have shifted to a work from a home model, multiple events have either been forced to an online/digital-only event or scrapped completely. Production on products has slowed or stopped completely as well. As it stands, the world simply wasn’t ready for this affliction and we’re all hoping we get back to some sort of normalcy in the upcoming months.
Source: Facebook Oculus
