Facebook is killing Oculus accounts, starting in October

Immediately after Facebook acquired Oculus VR in 2014, some developers expressed concern that the social media giant would fully absorb the pioneering virtual reality company, eliminating its independent identity. Six years later, Facebook is taking further steps in that direction as it prepares to sunset Oculus accounts and start requiring new VR headset customers to become Facebook users.

The official announcement positions the impending changes as a “single way to log into Oculus and unlock social features,” consisting of two phases. Starting in October 2020, new Oculus device users will need to log in with a Facebook account, and existing Oculus device users will have two years to continue accessing their Oculus accounts. During that time, they can choose to merge their Oculus and Facebook accounts or see what happens once Oculus account support officially ends.