Palmer Luckey, the renowned founder of Oculus, has stirred up excitement by hinting at a new announcement coming soon, aimed at demonstrating his ongoing involvement in the XR domain.
Back in June, Luckey shared that he’s working on a new XR headset tailored largely to meet military needs, although it does carry some non-military applications. This revelation came during AWE 2024, where he first discussed his upcoming project.
Recently reported by MIXED, Luckey has teased that an announcement is on the horizon in just a few weeks.
In a tweet, Luckey cryptically noted, “Wait till you see what I am announcing in a few weeks and see if you still think I am out of the game.”
His comment was in response to a claim that Quest app sales had seen a year-over-year decline by 27%—a notion that only partly reflects the reality. The drop referenced was specific to the Meta Horizon smartphone app over the holiday season, not the entire XR app ecosystem.
There’s speculation that Luckey’s new headset could be under the umbrella of his defense-focused venture, Anduril, a company he established in 2017. Alternatively, it might be an independent project like his retro-inspired gadget, the ModRetro Chromatic. However, the military-centric nature of the headset makes the former more plausible.
It’s currently unclear how all these XR initiatives might connect, as Luckey has yet to provide more details.
What can be said with certainty is that Luckey is no stranger to the XR world. He launched Oculus at just 19 in 2012, significantly contributing to the revival of VR through the original Oculus Rift DK1. Before the release of its successor, Oculus Rift DK2, Facebook (now Meta) acquired Oculus in a landmark deal exceeding $2 billion in 2014.
Though Luckey stayed with Meta for some years, he eventually left amid political controversies. Post-departure, he founded Anduril, which has since achieved remarkable success with a multi-billion dollar valuation. While not actively engaged in XR since his time at Meta, he remains a leading figure in the conversation surrounding immersive technology.
