Oculus founder Palmer Luckey is returning to XR with a new headset, though it’s primarily designed for military use.
We’ve known for several weeks that Luckey planned to reveal a new headset during AWE 2024. Announced during a panel with Bigscreen Beyond creator Darshan Shankar, Palmer Luckey confirmed the currently unnamed XR headset is being “driven by military requirements, but it’s also going to be used for non-military stuff.”
For the unaware, Luckey went on to co-found defense company Anduril Industries after he was fired by Facebook (now Meta), having sold Oculus to it for over $2 billion in 2014. Given this recent military focus, it’s therefore reasonable to assume this upcoming headset is designed for potential Anduril clients, and a wider consumer release seems unlikely.
Not much else is currently known. No hardware specifications, images, or any details about the XR ecosystem being used were revealed during this panel, and there’s no indication that Luckey is collaborating with Shankar. Luckey confirmed he’s announcing it early because keeping it secret decreases potential opportunities to find suppliers and collaborators.
