Facebook prepares to push Oculus VR headsets for businesses

The social networking giant is following Microsoft, selling its Oculus Go and Oculus Quest headsets for "enterprise" customers.

Ian Sherr Contributor and Former Editor at Large / News

Ian Sherr (he/him/his) grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area, so he's always had a connection to the tech world. As an editor at large at CNET, he wrote about Apple, Microsoft, VR, video games and internet troubles. Aside from writing, he tinkers with tech at home, is a longtime fencer -- the kind with swords -- and began woodworking during the pandemic.

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Ian Sherr

March 4, 2019 5:20 p.m. PT

2 min read

09-oculus-go — The next big step for Oculus may be into our office buildings.
Sarah Tew/CNET

When Facebook pitches its Oculus virtual reality headsets to the masses, it talks of their ability to make you feel as though you're inside a game, visiting another planet or scuba diving next to massive blue whales, without ever leaving your couch.

Its next act might be to take that other-worldliness to your work.

Via a job posting, Oculus VR is looking for a software expert to work in its Seattle, Washington offices to help build special versions of its $199 Oculus Go and $399 Oculus Quest mobile VR headsets for businesses. This person would help make the headsets work with various types of business software, the job posting said. An Oculus spokeswoman didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Oculus Go is an entry-level headset that works without the need for a computer or mobile phone to power it. The Quest is a mid-level device that's also self contained, offering higher quality visuals and controls. Both headsets put screens so close to your eyes they trick your brain into thinking you're in the computer-generated world.

The job posting, first noticed by Variety and which as of time of writing is no longer accepting applicants, is the latest sign of Facebook's willingness to invest in efforts to broaden the appeal of its headsets. Microsoft has taken a similar tack with its $3,500 HoloLens augmented reality headset, which overlays computer images on the real world. In Microsoft's case, the company explicitly says it does not want to sell the device to you and me -- yet.

For Oculus, finding success with the business world could help bolster sales as developers continue searching for a "killer app" that will convince consumers to buy in. But it will still have competition.

HTC , for example, announced its Vive Focus VR headset for businesses last November, and Microsoft has been helping partners such as Lenovo , Dell and H-P build VR headsets for businesses as well.