It looks as if Facebook may be reversing the requirement to log into the Virtual Reality Oculus Quest headsets. In a now-deleted Tweet from Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg, it was mentioned that Facebook is on making it so you can log into the Quest with an account other than your personal Facebook book account.
While the Tweet was deleted, Stephen Totilo from Axios (and formerly Kotaku) managed to capture the text of the tweet and reposted it.
Deleted prior tweet. Parse MZ accordingly:
"We're working on making it so you can log in to Quest with an account other than your personal Facebook account. We're starting to test support for work accounts soon and we're working on making a broader shift here over the next year"— Stephen Totilo (@stephentotilo) October 28, 2021
Asked FB PR for clarification about whether this would mean support for non-Facebook accounts. They just reiterated Zuckerberg's line, promising "… a broader shift here over the next year to provide more options."
Would not clarify if this means non-FB accounts or not.
— Stephen Totilo (@stephentotilo) October 28, 2021
If this is the case, this would be a reversal of last year’s decision that required existing Oculus users to migrate their accounts into Facebook accounts before they were shut out of the device had frustrated a number of existing users of the device and caused many to give up the headset.
Oddly enough, this tweet comes on the same day that Mark Zuckerberg announces that Facebook has been rebranded to Meta. The rebranding, according to Mark Zuckerberg, is that Facebook has been split into two different branches; One for the family apps (Instagram, WhatsApp), and the other that is working on the future of the company.
As for why the reversal, is anyone’s guess. For whatever the reason is, it isn’t because the Quest VR headset isn’t selling. Every time I head up to the local Best Buy or other electronic stores, the Quest 2 is constantly out of stock.
I’m sure that Facebook will eventually let us know why the change. Regardless of why this is happening, the moment I’m able to login into my Quest without a Facebook account will be a glorious day. Assuming that whatever that account has zero ties to Facebook.
Yes, I know Facebook owns Oculus. I’m quite aware of this.
