Developer kit for the Oculus Rift - the first truly immersive virtual reality headset for video games.
If you missed our Kickstarter, you can pre-order an Oculus Rift developer kit now at http://oculusvr.com/preorder/!
Hawken to Launch Oculus-ready 12.12.12!
"Rift could be the closest we've come to Star Trek's holodeck." - Gamespy
“...the effect of using the Oculus Rift as you play is mind-blowing." - G4TV
"...we found ourselves entirely absorbed; a gaming experience with a level of immersion genuinely unlike anything else we have ever encountered." - CVG
Step inside your favorite game.
Oculus Rift is a new virtual reality (VR) headset designed specifically for video games that will change the way you think about gaming forever. With an incredibly wide field of view, high resolution display, and ultra-low latency head tracking, the Rift provides a truly immersive experience that allows you to step inside your favorite game and explore new worlds like never before.
We're here raising money on Kickstarter to build development kits of the Rift, so we can get them into the hands of developers faster. Kickstarter has proven to be an amazing platform for accelerating big and small ideas alike. We hope you share our excitement about virtual reality, the Rift, and the future of gaming.
Designed for gamers, by gamers.
The Rift takes 3D gaming to the next level. There are a number of VR headsets out there, but none that deliver a truly immersive gaming experience. Most products either lack the technical features required for believable immersion or sit at a very high price-point ($20,000+) reserved for the military or scientific community.
We set out to change all that with the Rift, which is designed to maximize immersion, comfort, and pure, uninhibited fun, at a price everyone can afford.
We’re working with the best teams in the industry.
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"What I've got now, is, I honestly think the best VR demo probably the world has ever seen."
John Carmack, id Software
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"Needless to say, I'm a believer... We're extremely excited here at Epic Games to get the Unreal Engine integrated with Oculus."
Cliff Bleszinski, Design Director Epic Games
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"I think this will be the coolest way to experience games in the future. Simply that... that big."
David Helgason, CEO Unity
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"I’m really looking forward to getting a chance to program with it and see what we can do.”
Michael Abrash, Valve
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"It looks incredibly exciting, if anybody’s going to tackle this set of hard problems, we think that Palmer’s going to do it. So we’d strongly encourage you to support this Kickstarter.”
Gabe Newell, President and Owner Valve
Bundling DOOM 3 BFG with the Rift
We're including a copy of DOOM 3 BFG Edition, the first Oculus-ready game, with every Rift dev kit on Kickstarter. John Carmack showed DOOM 3 BFG at E3, stunning the press and creating incredible anticipation for the release.
Join the development process and make your voice heard.
We have plenty of Rift prototypes internally - A few are even out in the wild, in the hands of developers like John Carmack. But we want to make the Rift available to all game developers, today, so they can be part of the development process. Kickstarter makes that possible. Your voice will be critical to making the Rift hardware and software as great as they can be.
The cutting edge of virtual reality hardware.
Even though the consumer version of the Rift is still a ways down the road, the early developer kit’s hardware design is cutting edge, with technical specifications above and beyond other consumer headset available today.
Technical specs of the Dev Kit (subject to change)
Head tracking: 6 degrees of freedom (DOF) ultra low latency
Field of view: 110 degrees diagonal / 90 degrees horizontal
Resolution: 1280x800 (640x800 per eye)
Inputs: DVI/HDMI and USB
Platforms: PC and mobile
Weight: ~0.22 kilograms
And we’re confident we can make the consumer version even more impressive, all without increasing price or sacrificing an ounce of quality.
The SDK makes integration easy.
We’re already hard at work on a robust Oculus SDK that developers can use to integrate the Rift with their new and existing games. Our team has built great SDKs before and we’re excited to do it again.
All of the Rift dev kits include access to the Oculus Developer Center, which provides the SDK, technical support, and serves as a community for Oculus developers.
The SDK will include clean well-documented code, samples, and tutorials to make integration with any 3D game or application as easy as possible. We’re also working on out-of-the-box engine integrations for Unreal Engine and Unity, so that anyone interested in working with the Rift, including indie developers, can get started right away!
Oculus Team
The Rift is developed by a team of industry veterans passionate about changing the way people experience video games forever. We’ve tackled projects of similar scope: we’ve designed and manufactured consumer hardware; we’ve built well-adopted software development kits for the game industry; and now we’re excited to build a product that can so radically change the way people play their favorite video games.
Join us in the movement to take games to the next level!
Special Thanks:
Mark Bolas and the team at USC's MxR lab
John Carmack and Zenimax Media
Cliff Bleszinski and Epic Games
David Helgason and Unity
- Gabe Newell, Michael Abrash and Valve
Juli Griffo and the Shayd team
FAQ
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Yes! All of the Rift developer kits from Kickstarter include an early prototype of the Rift headset and access to the Oculus SDK, perfect for game developers interested in adding Oculus support to their game.
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The Rift’s video input is DVI, though that can be converted to HDMI with an adapter. Converting the signal does not impact the performance of the Rift.
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The computer must have an HDMI or DVI output port. Note that VGA is unsupported at this time. Other than that, there are no minimum specifications, though the more powerful the computer, the better the experience will be. Any standard gaming computer should be sufficient to use the Rift.
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While it’s true that the developer kit uses a relatively low-resolution screen (1280x800) compared to large desktop monitors, we promise it delivers a compelling, immersive 3D VR experience. And to be clear, we plan on improving the resolution in the consumer product. Stay tuned for more details!
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This really depends on the shape and size of the glasses. The developer kit is designed to sit as close to your eyes as possible which makes it a bit unfriendly for glasses. That said, we'll do everything we can to make it as comfortable as possible for the developer kit and we have a lot of great ideas for supporting glasses in the consumer version (especially since huge portion of the Oculus team wears glasses everyday!).
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DOOM 3 BFG is the first Oculus-ready game as of Aug. 1, 2012. That’s why this Kickstarter is so important: game developers need to add support for the Rift to their titles to make them Oculus-ready. Show your support by contributing to the campaign!
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The two main things you will need to do is (1) integrate Rift motion tracking with your character’s view camera transformation, enabling looking around the world, and (2) implement stereoscopic 3D rendering and optical distortion adjustment that produces the correct left/right eye image on the device. Our SDK will assist with both of these tasks, providing accelerometer and gyro data, screen size information, as well as pre-made shaders to simplify development and abstract away hardware details.
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Not yet. The Kickstarter developer kit will target PC-only. We hope to make the headset compatible with major consoles and hand-held game systems, as soon as possible.
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The Oculus SDK will be available as soon as the developer kits ship (estimated December, 2012).
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Libraries, headers, documentation, and samples for integrating the Oculus Rift with any game. We’ll also include out-of-the-box Unreal Engine and Unity integrations. The dev kit will be initially targeting PC and mobile platforms.
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The render from the Kickstarter video is the latest concept for the developer kit that we're toying with. At this time, we can't say for sure what the final developer kit will look like (we're still experimenting with form and weighting to ensure maximum comfort) but we're confident everyone will be pleased with the result. Stay tuned for more details!
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I live outside the United States. Can I still contribute to the project and be eligible for rewards?
Absolutely! We’re excited to offer the Oculus Rift internationally. Just be sure to add international shipping and handling to your contribution.
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Yes. We are asking that all our international developers, even our friends in Canada, include the additional shipping and handling cost. Sorry for the inconvenience!
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Yes! From Kickstarter Support: Visit the project page and click “Manage Your Pledge.” Enter a new amount in the pledge amount box. Note that you are not adding to your existing pledge; the amount you enter will be the total amount collected if the project is successfully funded."
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We can’t guarantee an exact date or quarter for the initial consumer product release, but we promise we’re working tirelessly to make it available as soon as possible.
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We can’t commit to a particular number yet but our goal is to deliver the highest quality virtual reality experience at a price that all gamers (and their parents) can afford.
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You can contact the Oculus media team anytime by emailing media@oculusvr.com. We will also be demonstrating the technology at QuakeCon, Siggraph, Gamescom, Unite, and PAX Prime. Stop by and say Hello!
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If you are asking this question, the answer is probably "Yes".
We encourage gamers to hold tight for the consumer version of the Oculus Rift. We promise it'll be worth the wait!
The consumer product will improve on virtually every aspect of the developer kit, which is essentially just an early prototype of the consumer version. This includes comfort, immersion, features, software support, etc... for the absolute best virtual reality experience possible.
So if you're not a developer or hardcore enthusiast, sit tight for now. We promise the consumer Rift will be worth the wait!
If you absolutely must own a piece of gaming history, please understand what the developer kits are more or less early prototypes of the consumer version and with very limited software/game support when they ship. We're hoping the community helps us change that, which is why the Kickstarter is so important! We hope you'll show your support.
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Not yet, though we'll keep everyone up to date on Ouya capability.
We'd love for the Oculus to work with Ouya. We're actually backers of Ouya ourselves. There are some technical requirements that need to be nailed down before we can officially annouce proper Ouya support but we don't foresee any major blockers.
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The Rift is causes very little eye strain, particularly compared to other standard displays or headmounts.
Normally, when you take a break from using a monitor or TV, the idea is to give your eyes a chance to focus and converge on a distance plane. This is a natural position of rest for your eyes.
With the Rift, your eyes are actually focused and converged in the distance at all times. It's a pretty neat optical feature, for sure.
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Not yet, though we hope to address these shortcomings for the consumer version.
The developer kit is designed specifically for an immersive VR gaming experience. Since Windows / OSX isn't designed to be rendered inside the Rift, it's not a trivial task to support content that has not yet been made Oculus-ready.
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While we'd like to get there in the future, currently the game developers need to explicitly add support for the Rift. This is especially critical because you're not longer looking at a flat screen, you feel as though you're actually inside the virtual world.
There will also need to be gameplay changes to ensure the game's virtual reality experience with the Rift superb (for example, looking around the world with your head). This simply can't be done without involving the developers which is why the Kickstarter is so important!
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Don't worry! We'll be sending a message to all our backers asking for an up-to-date shipping address before we send out any of the rewards. You'll have a chance to email us your ideal shipping destination then.
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The Rift gives two independent images, one for each eye so the view should match whatever you're able to see in real life. We can't guarantee it'll work for your eyes, but you'll have to try the Rift for yourself to be sure.
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Pledge $10 or more
1009 backers
SPECIAL THANKS: Help us take gaming to the next level! You'll receive a sincere thank you from the Oculus team and we'll keep you up to date on all of our progress developing the consumer Rift and building out the developer SDK!
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OCULUS POSTER: A limited-edition poster for the Oculus Rift, only available via Kickstarter. See the project description for a preview! (Please add $15 for international shipping)
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434 backers
OCULUS T-SHIRT: A limited edition t-shirt for the Oculus Rift, only available via Kickstarter. See the project description for a preview! You'll also receive a sincere thank you from the Oculus team. (Please add $15 for international shipping)
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OCULUS T-SHIRT + POSTER: A limited edition t-shirt and poster for the Oculus Rift, only available via Kickstarter. Check out the project description for a preview! (Please add $15 for international shipping)
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106 backers
SIGNED OCULUS T-SHIRT + POSTER: The limited edition t-shirt and poster for the Oculus Rift, both signed by the entire Oculus team.
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Pledge $275 or more
100 backers All gone!
UNASSEMBLED RIFT PROTOTYPE KIT + DOOM 3 BFG: Try building the prototype yourself! You'll receive your own DIY kit for building the Rift from scratch, including all of individual parts for the prototype as well as instructions for assembling it by hand. It will also be shipped out a month earlier, before the official dev kits. This also includes a copy of Doom 3 BFG, and full access to the Developer Center, SDK, docs, samples, and engine integrations! (Please add $30 for international shipping) NOTE: This DIY kit is only for true hardware geeks equipped with a hot glue gun. We encourage most of you to get the standard version below!
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Pledge $300 or more
5643 backers
EARLY RIFT DEVELOPER KIT + DOOM 3 BFG: Try the Rift for yourself now! You'll receive a developer kit, perfect for the established or indie game developer interested in working with the Rift immediately. This also includes a copy of Doom 3 BFG and full access to our Developer Center for our SDK, docs, samples, and engine integrations! (Please add $30 for international shipping)
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Pledge $335 or more
859 backers
EARLY RIFT DEVELOPER KIT + DOOM 3 BFG + T-SHIRT + POSTER: A developer kit, a copy of Doom 3 BFG, access to the Oculus Developer Center, the t-shirt, and the poster, all in one exciting package! (Please add $30 for international shipping)
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66 backers
SIGNED EARLY RIFT DEVELOPER KIT + DOOM 3 BFG + T-SHIRT + POSTER: A developer kit, a copy of Doom 3 BFG, access to the Oculus Developer Center, the t-shirt, and the poster- all signed by the entire Oculus team! (Please add $30 for international shipping)
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Pledge $575 or more
216 backers
2x EARLY RIFT DEVELOPER KIT + DOOM 3 BFG: You'll receive 2 developer kits (early prototype of the Rift headset), perfect for the established or indie game studio interested in working with the Rift immediately. This also includes 2 copies of Doom 3 BFG and full access to our Developer Center for our SDK, docs, samples, and engine integrations! (Please add $60 for international shipping)
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40 backers
3x EARLY RIFT DEVELOPER KIT + DOOM 3 BFG: You'll receive 3 developer kits (early prototype of the Rift headset), perfect for the established or indie game studio interested in working with the Rift immediately. This also includes 3 copies of Doom 3 BFG and full access to our Developer Center for our SDK, docs, samples, and engine integrations! (Please add $60 for international shipping)
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20 backers
5x EARLY RIFT DEVELOPER KIT + DOOM 3 BFG: You'll receive 5 developer kits (early prototype of the Rift headset), perfect for the established or indie game game studio interested in working with the Rift immediately. This also includes 5 copies of Doom 3 BFG and full access to our Developer Center for our SDK, docs, samples, and engine integrations! (Please add $100 for international shipping)
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STUDIO PACK - 10x EARLY RIFT DEVELOPER KITS + PREMIUM SUPPORT EVALUATION + DOOM 3 BFG: Want your team to have access to the cutting edge of gaming? You'll receive 10 developer kits (early prototype of the Rift headset), enough for your whole team to get started developing with the Rift. You’ll also receive an evaluation of our premium support, with direct access to Oculus engineers. This also includes 10 copies of Doom 3 BFG and full access to our Developer Center for our SDK, docs, samples, and engine integrations! (Please add $150 for international shipping)
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VISIT OCULUS FOR THE DAY + ALL OF THE ABOVE: We'll fly you out to the Oculus lab where you'll spend a day hanging out with the team and checking out all of our latest work (and maybe playing a few games too). You'll also receive a developer kit, a copy of Doom 3 BFG, Developer Center access, the t-shirt, and the poster, all signed by the entire Oculus team, in person. (US-residents only, sorry!)
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