Oculus Discontinues Go Headset, Commits To A More Open Oculus Quest Ecosystem

The Oculus Quest is one of the best VR headsets you can buy today, and it's clearly driving many of the decisions around how Oculus thinks about its products--both hardware and software--and their future. Which explains why today the company is discontinuing its other portable headset, while laying out plans for a more open ecosystem for the Quest.

The Oculus Go was the first of Oculus' attempts at an all-in-one VR headset, primarily aimed at a market that was being dominated by headsets that required you to use your smartphone as the screen. The Oculus Go put all of that hardware into the headset itself, but also omitted features that made it more suitable for more passive VR experiences, as opposed to those you can find on the Oculus Quest.

It wasn't a hit like the Quest, and today Oculus is discontinuing production on the Oculus Go. Oculus has ceased production on the headset, and will shut down new app submissions this December. After-sales support will continue through 2022, with security updates ceasing after that.

In tandem with this announcement, Oculus is also committing to a more open software ecosystem for the Oculus Quest, starting in 2021. Although the blog post omits finer details, Oculus states that it is looking into ways for apps to be submitted and sold outside of the Oculus Store--the single storefront you have to go through for Oculus games and apps. Oculus says this should reduce the need to sideload applications, which has become common as users search for additional software Oculus isn't directly selling.

The Oculus Quest is still difficult to come by, even months after the launch of Half-Life: Alyx. We're constantly keeping an eye on stock, so check out our Oculus Quest buyer's guide for the best options to pick one up.