Being an early Kickstarter backer is often a risky proposition, but not if you backed the Oculus Rift. There’s nothing stopping the company or individual behind the campaign you’ve just thrown hard-earned dollars at, from taking your money and running away with it, never delivering anything it promised in its elaborate, expertly-produced Kickstarter video.
Everyone who bought a DK1 through our Kickstarter is getting a Rift for free! https://t.co/UPm3UixanI
— Palmer Luckey (@PalmerLuckey) January 5, 2016
In the case of Oculus, which is now owned by Facebook, that didn’t happen. As a special thank you to Kickstarter backers who helped Oculus get off the ground back in 2012, every individual who pledged over $275 USD will get their hands on a free consumer edition of the Oculus Rift. $275 USD was also the level required to receive the Oculus Rift’s initial DK1 development kit.
Pre-orders for the Oculus Rift are set to open on Wednesday and will include a free copy of Oculus launch games Lucky’s Tale and EVE: Valkyrie. A price point for the consumer Oculus Rift still hasn’t been revealed.
When Facebook first purchased the Oculus Rift back in 2014, many early Kickstarter backers felt they’d been cheated out of their “investment” in the VR headset, mistakenly assuming backing a product on the crowdfunding service for being the same thing as investing in a company. While these individuals were wrong, it seems they’ll still get their hands on the consumer version of the Oculus Rift for being earlier believers in the company’s vision for the future of virtual reality.
Related reading: Oculus cofounder says lack of Rift pricing info is ‘standard practice’ in the tech industry
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