Oculus is OK with free-to-play on Rift, but even a VR ad startup doesn’t like that idea

Two high-end virtual reality devices have launched, and now we live in a world where we need to figure out how these headsets fit into our lives. And, at least when it comes to the top-of-the-line models, that probably won’t include a lot of in-game advertising.

Oculus VR told developers at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco last month that it is OK to make free-to-play games with in-app advertisements as long as they follow the company’s submission guidelines. Essentially, as long as a game is technically sound and feels like a complete, polished experience, Oculus will accept it onto its store even if it also has ads. This opens up an opportunity for a company like Immersv, which recently launched a platform for interstitial video ads inside of VR. Tech adviser Digi-Capital predicts that VR could generate $30 billion in revenue by 2020, and marketing could contribute to that significantly — except we will probably see most of that happening on something other than an Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, or PlayStation VR.