Facebook Brings Oculus VR to Messenger: What’s Next?

Could Workplace be VR-enabled Soon?

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Facebook Brings Oculus VR to Messenger- What’s Next?
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Published: February 10, 2021

Rebekah Carter - Writer

Rebekah Carter

It doesn’t matter who or where you are, the chances are you’ve felt the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Experts agree that the pandemic forced us to accelerate our digital transformation at an incredible speed, putting more work into things like artificial intelligence and extended reality.

Facebook recently announced double the income from its “other revenue” segment compared to 2019 – a large part of which is down to the Oculus Quest 2 – the VR headset aimed at consumers and businesses alike.

Building on Quest’s appeal, Facebook has announced that it is bringing Messenger to the VR headsets.

Leading the Way for a VR Revolution

Facebook believes that VR is an area of potential for not just the future workplace, but all forms of communication and collaboration. The Quest 2 headset is one of the most powerful VR experiences available on the market and comes at a price point that makes VR more of a realistic option for homes and offices.

According to Mike Verdu, Oculus VP of Content, one of the biggest reasons that VR headset purchasing hasn’t skyrocketed is a lack of access to content and applications. Initially, people scrambled to buy VR headsets for gaming purposes. When the pandemic hit, we started connecting and interacting with friends through virtual reality, creating more immersive social experiences.

The integration of Messenger into the Oculus aims to leverage the growing momentum of the VR environment, by allowing users to chat within a virtual environment. Verdu said that with the new update, users will be able to chat with their Facebook friends wherever they have Messenger – even if they’re not in VR with you.

Users can reach contacts without removing their headset, and you can also easily turn a conversation into an Oculus party if you decide to start playing the same game together too.

Adding New Levels to the Oculus Environment

The integration of Facebook Messenger brings yet another level to the Oculus environment. This comes at a time when interest in things like Facebook Horizon (a VR social platform) is growing, and businesses are turning to VR for more collaborative applications too. The decision to bring Messenger into Oculus turns the device into an even more immersive and connected experience.

If Messenger proves to be a hit, then there’s a good chance that there could be a future for Workplace from Facebook to make the transition into VR too. Although there haven’t been any official announcements about this from Facebook yet, it seems like a natural progression in a landscape where VR could be the next frontier for collaboration.

Many companies already see the Oculus Quest 2 as an affordable way to access virtual reality. Bringing the Workplace features into the mix would only make Facebook’s solution more appealing.

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