An invite went out today beckoning its recipients to “Step into the Rift” on the 11th of June, 2015 in San Francisco—just a few days before E3 begins in LA. We want to step in. Oh yes, we do.

Many suspect that the consumer version of the Oculus Rift, announced earlier this month for a Q1 2016 release, would be getting its grand unveiling at E3—but now it appears that those with invites will be able to get a glimpse of the VR headset a little sooner than anticipated.

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After months of radio silence, Oculus only recently published a general announcement of the Rift’s coming availability. Together with some high-res images, we surmised that the new headset would be lighter and more comfortable based on the near cloth-like textures used in the images.oculus-rift-cv1-material-closeup (enhanced)

The very same day Oculus co-founder Nate Mitchell found himself in the hot seat at TechCrunch 2015, an interview that revealed that users would need a “nice gaming rig” to run the consumer Rift.

And while the internet was ablaze with speculation over input and physical specs of the VR headset, we received confirmation that indeed “…the Rift runs at 2160×1200 at 90Hz split over dual displays, consuming 233 million pixels per second,” a statement that went along with a list of system recommendations to run it.


This is a developing story, so check back for more information on this pre-E3 event.

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Well before the first modern XR products hit the market, Scott recognized the potential of the technology and set out to understand and document its growth. He has been professionally reporting on the space for nearly a decade as Editor at Road to VR, authoring more than 4,000 articles on the topic. Scott brings that seasoned insight to his reporting from major industry events across the globe.