Xbox and Oculus Team Up for the VR Set’s 2016 Launch

Earlier today, Oculus CEO Brendan Iribe announced the first official details on the consumer launch of the Oculus Rift, which is set to debut in the first quarter of 2016. Alongside Iribe at the press conference was none other than Head of Xbox Phil Spencer, who joined him in announcing that every Oculus Rift will ship with a wireless Xbox One controller.

In addition, it was revealed that Xbox One games will be fully compatible with the Oculus Rift in the same way players can stream their Xbox One games on their PC or Tablet. The pair also announced that gaming on the Oculus Rift has been optimized for performance with Windows 10.

“We’re thrilled to be working closely with the team at Oculus. Their groundbreaking work in virtual reality is inspiring, and the Oculus Rift delivers a truly next-generation VR experience,” said Spencer. “We at Xbox are passionate about giving gamers the opportunity to play when and where they want. I can’t wait to see the incredible games created for the Rift, and we are proud to be part of the experience.”

If the Xbox controller isn’t how you want to play, Oculus also announced their own prototype controllers called ‘Oculus Touch.’ The pair of controllers will be featuring a series of sensors allowing them to recolonize hand movements and gestures in addition to traditional buttons and analog sticks.

“Once you have your hands involved, you really need tracking to be perfect or you’re going to feel like your hands are dead,” Oculus founder Palmer Luckey said. “You need to be able to pick up a gun from a table and then fire it, throw it, or drop it, effortlessly.”

A number of other partners for the Oculus Rift were announced as well, including Square Enix, Harmonix, Ready at Dawn, Climax Studios, Gunfire Games, CCP, and Insomniac Games. Two Oculus games were also announced, including Gunfire Games’ “atmospheric RPG” Chronos and Insomniac’s Edge of Nowhere. You can check out the trailers for both of those, along with a video with Xbox’s Major Nelson and CVP of Next Gen Experiences, Kudo Tsunoda, talking about the reveal in the players below.