Oculus Rift founder Palmer Luckey is, abruptly and without any real explanation, leaving Facebook as of this Friday. Once the veritable golden boy of the VR industry, Luckey has been almost completely out of the public eye for the last year or more, leaving the exact reasons behind his departure from the social network murky at best. Facebook bought Luckey’s VR company Oculus in 2014 after he founded the startup in his garage, almost immediately becoming the face of an emerging industry.
Despite not revealing whether Luckey was fired or quit, Facebook did take the time to release a rote statement acknowledging his departure.
Palmer will be dearly missed. Palmer’s legacy extends far beyond Oculus. His inventive spirit helped kickstart the modern VR revolution and helped build an industry. We’re thankful for everything he did for Oculus and VR, and we wish him all the best.”
While it’s true that Luckey “kickstarted” a world where advanced VR finally seemed like it could be the norm in the near future, the Oculus Rift only made it to market last year after being announced to great fanfare in 2012 and Oculus underwent a drastic reorganization recently as well.
Luckey’s decision to tone down his public profile coincided with the reveal that he funded an internet group of trolls which supported Donald Trump — not a great look in general, especially when you are owned by a company headed up by a guy who definitely wants to be president someday. There will no doubt be more to this story trickling out over the days and weeks, but the separation of Luckey from one of the giants of the tech industry probably isn’t a positive thing for him — no matter which way you spin it.
(via UploadVR)