According to a report by The Information, Facebook is allegedly looking to sign more deals with game studios, the result of which aims to bring some high-profile franchises to the Oculus platform. This is said to include VR versions of Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed and Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell.

The Information report cites “two people familiar with the matter,” and says that Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is directly involved in the initiative. Jason Rubin, Facebook’s VP of special gaming initiatives (and former head of content at Oculus), is also reportedly heading up the initiative.

The report contends that the company has already signed deals for exclusive VR versions of Assassin’s Creed and Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell. There’s no word on the scope of these projects, or whether they will be true franchise games in their own right, but calling them ‘VR versions’ as opposed to ‘VR experiences’ certainly sounds promising.

Ubisoft has produced a slew of VR games since the consumer launch of VR, including Star Trek: Bridge Crew, Space Junkies, Werewolves Within, and Eagle Flight; it’s clear they have the know-how.

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An Oculus spokesperson responded to The Information’s request for a substantiation of the report, however the company says they “cannot comment on specific partnerships, but we will continue to focus on expanding our library and reaching broader gaming audiences for years to come.”

Ubisoft, the holder of both Assassin’s Creed and Splinter Cell IPs, has yet to comment on the story.

What’s more, an Information source maintains that while the size of the investment is expected to be less than $1 billion, that it could grow beyond that number.

As a point of comparison, Mark Zuckerberg announced at Oculus Connect 3 in 2016 that the company had earmarked $500 million for content. That money has ostensibly brought in a few high-profile productions to the Oculus platform such as the Star Wars Vader Immortal series from ILMxLab, Epic Games’ Robo Recall, and MARVEL Powers United VR from Sanzaru and Oculus Studios; many of these are unique implementations with a clear aim to draw in new users, but in the same breath they’ve done little to answer the question that many VR newcomers eventually ask themselves: “Why can’t I play [x] in VR?”

While there are a few Oculus exclusives on the horizon, including the open-world game Stormland, the combat-heavy adventure Asgard’s Wrath and the sequel Lone Echo II, if the report can be believed, it appears the company is continuing on its path to generate a library of recognizable, exclusive content—all of which has the aim to both attract and retain users in their ecosystem.

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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.
  • kuhpunkt

    Fuck exclusives.

    • Blaexe

      Rather not have these games at all, heh?

      • Trenix

        Rather not have them on Facebook.

        • Blaexe

          That’s not an option. Without Facebook, it simply wouldn’t exist.

          • Trenix

            Lmfao, what?

          • Nejham Mosquera

            He means some of the exclusive games. If facebook doesn’t work on deals to get them, they just wouldn’t exist. It’s either getting the games from facebook, or not getting the at all, because nobody else is doing it.

          • Trenix

            Do you blame developers? There isn’t enough customers and to release exclusives, is even worse. Just seems like Facebook is doing whatever it can to remain relevant in VR. Valve and HTC going to wipe the competition from what I see, especially with how Facebook got rid of their original CEO and Oculus founders.

          • asshat

            nah the quest will keep them rooted for a long time

          • Trenix

            Honestly, the Cosmos seems like a brutal competitor. Also Samsung may have some tricks up their sleeve and the Gear VR was actually pretty nice. The only reason I’d get a standalone headset like an Oculus, would be if I could connect it to my computer as well.

          • asshat

            I stream steam games from my pc to my quest lol

            and the cosmo will just be absurdly expensive for the same thing as the quest. Both will be ARM android based headsets

          • Nejham Mosquera

            That’s the think. Oculus is helping the industry to grow up the amount of costumers so more developers deside to create games for VR. Valve is doing a great work in the hardware side, but at $1000 how many new people are they going to bring to VR? And compared to Oculus how many games have Valve an HTC founded so that we get quality games from developers that weren’t already working on VR games?

            You can hate Facebook as much as you want, but they are doing more for the long term consumer VR than the other competitors. HTC if focusing more on the profesional side, and Valve on the Pro (wealthy) gamers, and only going Pro and Enterprise will not make things easier for the common people.

            And if you are complaining about the way facebook does things, I just hope you don’t own any Apple device.

          • Trenix

            The industry will grow with consumers. Funny how you brought up apple. Apple didn’t get people to buy a smartphone by getting exclusive apps. Instead they pushed the hype on the phone with it’s features. Once everyone bought one, apps exploded. This is why the whole industry of VR should be ashamed of themselves, because every year is more hype but large letdowns. The problem isn’t content, it’s the quality of the device and it’s value.

            I’m honestly surprised everyday big corporations marketing and management decisions go full retard all the time and consumers keep buying. Facebook was a big example of this with the Oculus. Also as of now, I don’t own any apple products because guess what, they’re not worth the value for what they offer.

          • realityCall

            You must be really gullible to believe that. Reality is actually the opposite. Paying for exclusives is for their own gains. It has nothing to do with VR. It’s for getting people locked into their own platform. Once that happens, developer will have to release games on their platform if they want to reach a wide audience. It doesn’t benefit VR in anyway, it just benefits their own store. It’s the same nonsense as Epic game store.

          • asshat

            exactly. i despise fb as well and havent had an account(hipster bragging) and i used to have a grunge towards oculus for it but in the end oculus has used fb money to push vr really really fast in comparison to what it would have been. I do not support thier closed walled garden, but also if you build your own hardware and your own ecosystem, you make the rules. thats why they did it, and we, as people who havent created those tools, cant really do much about it. thats a free market, and anything else would be more unfair then that.

          • Blaexe

            The VR market is simply too small to carry big budget projects and not make a huge loss without 3rd party funding. Facebook is the only company providing this. Lone Echo, Stormland, Defector, Asgards Wrath, the future Assassins Creed and Splinter Cell games and many more wouldn’t exist without facebooks funding.

          • Trenix

            They would exist… in the future once we have a solid VR headset.

          • Blaexe

            So Facebook is accelerating this process by 10 years? Fine with me.
            It’s not about headset hardware. People won’t buy “nice headset” without appealing software. Chicken and egg problem. Facebook is solving it.

          • Trenix

            Yes because when I bought a smartphone it was CLEARLY for the apps.

          • Blaexe

            Of course, what else? That’s the main selling point of smartphones.

          • Trenix

            The iPhone, the first popularized smartphone on the market was not designed nor advertised for solely apps. It instead was supposed to be an ipod that is also a phone, using touch controls. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever seen apps be a feature that was ever advertised for any smartphone device. At one point, ipods technically had apps, but they were already preinstalled with the device and you couldn’t go online and download more. iPods were also not popular because of apps.

        • sebrk

          As much as I despise everything Facebook this is not one of those things. Oculus is doing absolute great at promoting VR. And they actually LET you play using a certain common hack. They could easily fuck everyone over by making it truly device exclusive which they are not so wipe your ass, brush your teeth and go to bed kiddo.

          • Trenix

            Aww, is poor Facebook fanboy upset? I can vow that Facebook and a bunch of other liberal giants are going to crash in the upcoming years. Mark my words. They’re not only producing inferior products, but no one trusts them anymore whatsoever. Gonna laugh also once the government begins to crack down hard on them.

          • sebrk

            Right, I couldn’t agree more. I never had an FB account and never will. I do however support Oculus and the fact that FB sponsors VR. There is still a difference at the time of this writing.

          • I see you have poor reading skills :)

          • sebrk

            Oh I now realise how me missing a comma made the first sentence sound completely different.
            Edit: As much as I despise everything-Facebook, this is not one of those things…

    • Bartholomew

      At least Oculus produced amazing VR games.
      Valve only a couple of shitty tech demos.

      • realityCall

        Produce my ass. They just pay money so you can’t play the game with your favorite headset.

        • Brian Burgess

          Whether or not Oculus developed their exclusive games, or paid a developer to make them, is beside the point. Oculus has invested money into software; Valve has barely done so and it shows.

          The Index is an amazing headset with the best pair of VR controllers ever made so far, but Valve didn’t even bother to work with developers to ensure full Index controller functionality out of the gate. Key binding is a lazy cop out; especially for a product that is the flagship hardware on its own platform and yet it’s not fully supported by the games on that platform.

          Don’t even get me started on the Valve VR games, which they keep promising they are working on. Valve should have had something more than Aperture Hand Lab for the launch of the Index. The only real piece of software to look forward to which truly takes advantage of the Index controllers is Boneworks, which does look amazing, but it’s not set to release for months.

        • care package

          They’ve shelled out cash to get many games developed, not just exclusivity deals retard.

      • Skippy76

        Please.. Share with us which game Oculus actually made???
        Valve made the tech demos to showcase what their hardware can do. And made that open source so anyone can develop.. Way more impressive than anything Oculus made!

    • care package

      I’m guessing you DIDN’T choose Oculus lol.

    • TJ Studio

      Deal with exclusives you piece of shit!

    • Gonzax

      So fuck sony, fuck MS, fuck Nintendo and fuck everyone basically

      • kuhpunkt

        Not everyone.

  • MeowMix

    Heck ya !!

  • Trenix

    I think it’s funny how people believe Facebook will somehow pave the way for VR. It’s done nothing but bring us backwards. This is the same company that snoops in on your personal information without your knowledge and censors people that go against their opinion. This isn’t good news, it’s terrible news. Remember, Facebook cancelled Rift 2 and brought you Oculus S, which is arguably worse than the original. Way to repeat what the coca cola company did years ago.

    • MasterElwood

      It’s not. S is WAY better than CV1. You just need to use headphones or do the Kross porta pro mod.

      Other than that – S Visuals are AMAZING!

    • Who’s this?

      We always knew they’re in VR for the power. They want to see how you think and then control how you think. What better place to do that than in a world that Facebook owns? You like dystopian? Well we’ll let you live it.

    • Bartholomew

      “Oculus S, which is arguably worse than the original”.
      Rift S is way better than the original Rift/HTC Vive (YouTube: THROUGH THE LENSES – Oculus RIFT S vs Oculus RIFT vs HTC VIVE).
      Does Valve pay you to tell lies about the Oculus Rift S?

      • Trenix

        Yes, lets see reviews by people who are literally being paid to say whatever they can to make products look good. After seeing many reviews and making VR decisions, I realized 99% of all youtube reviewer are mentally retarded and blatant liars. Aside from that, the drop in frames is a joke. You think that doesn’t make a significant difference? That is crucial to gaming. It’s crucial in desktop gaming and even more so in VR.

    • care package

      Only arguable worse than the OG Rift if you’re on the Oculus hate bandwagon. It’s a much easier argument to make it’s a hell of a lot better overall. Just ask anyone who owns one lol. As far as facebook snooping, if you are worried about that you might want to remove yourself from the internet all together.

      • Trenix

        Oh I forgot to add that Facebook not only snoops on people, but also makes money off it, which is how it’s free. Of course, 90% of all users most likely don’t even know that. I have other websites that actually pay for my information/feedback. Not all web browsers, social media, and other software, actually steal your information and make money off of it. The big corporations, like google and facebook, do.

        • Justos

          This comment is very disingenuous. Facebook doesnt steal your data, they just keep what you give them or store what you do on their platform like every other website.

          • Trenix

            Does Facebook make it well aware to it’s users what exactly it’s tracking? No it doesn’t.

        • asshat

          youre useing a big corp to stream this data to you with telecommunications…. and thats the core of it. so if ur against them then you should leave

          • Trenix

            Perfect name for yourself. Aside from that, what does what you said have anything to do with Facebook censoring and being misleading?

        • care package

          Define “snoop” for one lol. You mean keep track of what you post? It could be worse, google keeps track of everything you say if you have a phone, and they track everywhere you go, even if you turn off location. If you use W10, everything is tracked as well, whether you agree or not. Get a clue dude. Like I said, if you don’t want to be tracked get off the net. You don’t know the world you live in.

          • Trenix

            Google literally pays me to track me and get my feedback meanwhile Facebook doesn’t. But you’re right, if Google wasn’t paying me, I would be annoyed.

      • Skippy76

        Not really.. The only slight improvement is the resolution.. The reast is garbage.. Including the new controllers!

  • Bartholomew

    Valve fanboys are already seething like mad because they spent $999 for the Valve Index to play only shitty SteamVR games.
    Don’t worry Valve fanboys, maybe you’ll get Artifact VR or Dota Underlords VR. LOL.

    • gothicvillas

      I can play facebook games on Valve just fine

      • Bartholomew

        Thank you for supporting the Oculus Store with your money.
        More Valve Fanboys buy games on the Oculus Store (and play it like sh*t via ReVive), more money Facebook invests in exclusive VR games for Oculus Rift. LOL.

        • asshat

          you sound like a panicking child.

        • Jarilo

          Have you looked at how many Rift users are sucking on the titties of Steam in the surveys lately? lmao

    • Who’s this?

      Are you okay? You don’t realize that we can play it? We just don’t want to support their store or behavior, that’s all.

      • Bartholomew

        What are you blathering? You buy games on Oculus Store and play it, like sh*t, via ReVive. So you already support their store.
        LOL, are Valve fanboys mentally retarded?

        • Gonzax

          Like shit?? Have you even tried it? And what makes you think that just because someone buys an Index they’re Valve fanboys?

    • CQCoder

      Beats hanging out with Facebook butt lickers anyday.

      • care package

        I guess we know what’s on your mind.

    • Gonzax

      Sorry but I bought an Index and I am very happy to play all my games on it (including Oculus games). We bought the Index for the bigger quality of the headset, that’s it. I’m no fanboy, I still keep my OG Rift and if next year Oculus releases a headset better than the Index I’ll be very happy to throw the Index in the garbage bin and buy Oculus’s headset. I just want the best, nothing to do with fanboyism.

      • Jarilo

        Understandable to move up, but please don’t throw it in the garbage lol. You’re wasting your time writing a rational response to this guy, he posts crap like this on every article.

  • Trenix

    Exclusives for VR which lacks players as it is. Genius!

    • johann jensson

      Someone has to do something about the chicken & egg problem. Why not the big boys who have the financial backing?

  • Jarilo

    Awesome, but I wonder how they will handle it. Will these be High End Rift-S PCVR titles or will they be Quest face lifts for the PC? As far as the exclusive shit people need to chill the F out, the Knuckles through revive pretty much play Oculus Exclusives better than Oculus hardware plays Oculus Exclusives (LMFAO). What’s the big deal, relax and enjoy the games. Glad we got more stuff coming, many thought that after Asgarth’s Wrath, Lone Echo 2, and Stormlands that things are going to go quiet with higher end exclusives, this pretty much shoves a sock in that.

    • Blaexe

      We might have Quest 2 and Rift 2 with eye tracking and Foveated Rendering by the time these games release.

      • Jarilo

        Maybe, but Ubisoft has a faster turn-out of high end games. They reuse engines and have larger studios. Pretty much an AC game every year sometimes.

    • gothicvillas

      One thing for sure, it wont be on Quest 1.

    • Skippy76

      Thats the problem.. The Quest processor is junk and can’t handle PC vr games without dumbimg them down big time. Then the rift S tracking is horrible.. Including the audio and refresh rates. might as well just buy PSVR.. And their massive exclusive library of games

      • care package

        Many reviewers had a very different opinion about Rift S tracking, and that was before the update that damn near corrected the controller too close to the HMD issue and the occlusion issue. Get a clue.

      • Jarilo

        PSVR has some cool exclusives but I wouldn’t be able to survive on it as my only and daily headset. Too much functionality out of my PC-VR platform. The PSVR is a good supplement in my opinion if the VR gamer has the resources.

  • care package

    So ready for release with Gen2. I can wait.

  • Brian Burgess

    The naysayers live in an enthusiast bubble. Facebook is the big bad of Silicon Valley, but their path for VR is the only viable one. That is to say, finding a way to make hardware cheaper, and funding compelling content to draw in customers, is how it’s done and it’s the only way the industry will grow.

    VR in consumer use cases, is primarily a gaming device so comparing VR headsets to the iPhone is not applicable. The iphone is a multifunctional device; consumers are more willing to pay higher for devices that have lots of different use cases. That’s why AR will eclipse VR in raw hardware sales once it finally arives in a consumer friendly, headset form factor. A better analogy for VR headsets, and the VR industry, is gaming consoles and peripherals. And in that arena, the hardware price and content are king, which is something Nintendo, for example, has proven over several gaming generations.

    All those who keep bringing up the Cosmos are looking at specs and assuming that raw hardware specs trump affordability and content (the Quest will no doubt sell more than all PC headsets combined). That has never been the case in the gaming industry. The Cosmos is going to be over 600 dollars once it releases. At that price, it’s not even a factor. The Cosmos will sell just as slow as the other premium HTC sets because in the eyes of the average gaming consumer, the Cosmos is just another expensive gaming peripheral. One can easily say the same thing of the Index as well.

    To the VR enthusiast, the highest quality hardware is the most important thing. VR enthusiasts are a niche of a niche market. Oculus would be in the same position as Windows MR and HTC, if they fell into the Enthusiast Trap. Instead, Oculus saw what Sony has been doing with the PSVR, and started taking pages out of the classic gaming industry hand book, and that’s why they will win in the VR space.

    • airball

      This is a very accurate analysis of the space IMO.

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    • Skippy76

      Okay Mark.. Get off the forum..
      Have you heard the audio of the rift S? Have you experienced the horrible tracking and nausiating refresh rates? Have you played popular titles ported to the Quest? Its just nasty! I mean.. I love the concept but the processing power is just not there.. The battery life is horrible for any real gamer.
      I mean.. If I wanted to go backwards i would just go buy a PSVR for the same experience lol.

      • Brian Burgess

        Spoken like a true blue Enthusiast. You are incapable of looking beyond your own preferences, and your own preoccupation with top of the line hardware. Mentally you exist in a bubble. If you look outside the enthusiast echo chambers of the internet, and analyze the wider base of gaming consumers, the bigger picture begins to take shape. It’s a bitter pill to swallow, but Enthusiasts are a niche of niche.

        The wider gaming market cares about price and they care about content; they don’t value the same things enthusiasts do. The PSVR has consistently demonstrated that sense it dropped the price and began to garner a sizable library of exclusives and timed exclusives. The wider gaming market does not care that the PSVR is not the highest fidelity headset.

        The Rift S and Quest are following the exact same play book, and that is why the Rift S is dominating PCVR. And that is why the Quest is quickly carving out a place in the ConsoleVR space. The hardware limitations that enthusiasts despise are being embraced by the general consumer too, because they either make VR less isolating (the audio), create less friction (inside out tracking), or they contribute to making the hardware more affordable (the lack of manual IPD, 80 Hz refresh rate, LCD panels and the Snapdragon 835 of the Quest, etc). If you cannot see why that is the case, again, step outside your bubble.

        • Skippy76

          Im not truly an enthusiast.. If I was.. I would have pre-ordered the Pimax 8k with a rtx2080. Im just super disapointed that they went backwards just to cust cost and try to maximize profits on what you call a niche market. Its so bad that developers like Downpour need to implement fixes just so their game can be playable. FPS games require a virtual gun stock just so that people can shoot somewhat accurately without their tracking getting all wonky… Its pretty sad that PSVR tracking is almost better!

      • Blaexe

        The sound is shitty, everyone agrees with that. At least for Beat Saber and the likes. But horrible tracking? Nauseating tracking? Not sure if trolling or…

        • Skippy76

          I tried it at my local best buy and it was brutal. I couldnt hear the game audio because its so far from the ear and zero bass. I felt like i woke up with a hangover.. Everything felt slow and lethargic compared to my vive pro.

          • Blaexe

            It’s not like that, there must’ve been something wrong. I know the OG Rift and I absolut know Lighthouse tracking.

          • Justos

            this just screams of a fanboy opinion. The LCD displays have lower persistence than the vive pro which means that 80fps can feel even better than 90 does (but in reality, it feels the same)

            The tracking is also rock solid for me on quest unless im trying to break it, i dont see how the S would be worse

  • Bartholomew

    Thanks to Epic and Oculus for making Gaben fangirls cry every day. LOL.

    • Chris7

      Ditto. So salty.

    • gothicvillas

      I would assume you are very young in age. Perhaps still in teens which is fine. But have to remind you, most of the vr enthusiasts have all or several VR platforms. I have Rift, Vive, sold my Pimax, expecting Valve next month. Even if one has only one VR system, you can enjoy Oculus and Steam games regardless what platform you have.
      You remind me one of those guys who have one console and then spew garbage against other console lol. Working adult would have all 3: ps4, xbox and switch.
      Hence my assumption, you are in your early teens and simply dont understand the things on a grander scale. You will get there one day :)

      • asdfasdfasdf

        agreeeeed!

      • Skippy76

        You know what they say about assuming…
        Im actually a 43 year old man.. Hence my username..
        I own the Vive and Vive pro. And I did own most consoles until the last generation. I gave up on consoles because its always the same garbage that they keep re-hashing and incrementing by one digit. PC gaming is far better and I got into VR to experience a new level of gaming. I went with the vive over oculus because of the amazing tracking for real roomscale VR gaming. I was super excited for the next gen VR to come and Oculus basically slapped all their Rift users in the face with their latest offerings. On the other hand.. Most other manufacturers actually tried to step up their hardware.. I will definitely be ordering the Index once it becomes available in my country.

      • ARVR

        Not everyone (working adult here – working in an AR/VR company) can afford to spend their money on every set out there, some of us have responsibilities and don’t earn boatloads of money. And who cares about VR enthusiasts, the market is too small for most companies to give a damn, the goal is to make adoption mainstream, not everyone has both an xbox and a playstation. It is not wrong of consumers to complain about platform exclusivity. The thinking needs to be more consumer oriented.

  • Skippy76

    That being said.. All the ubisoft VR titles are shit and dead.. Pair that with Oculus’s shit hardware and you still have a big pile of shit. I still don’t understand why all the devs don’t work a little extra to port their games into VR such as Halo.. Call of Duty.. Half Life.. Battlefield.. We need proper AAA fps to jumpstart VR for the masses.

    • Xron

    • Simple O’Rourke

      Wow. Loser.

      • Skippy76

        WOW.. Intelligent response…

    • Brian Burgess

      Other than Space Junkies, everything else that Ubisoft has produced for consumer VR have been low budget side projects. They are not representative of what Ubisoft is capable of which should be obvious. If Ubisoft puts as much effort into these Oculus exclusives as they do their flat game efforts, then the quality have their previous VR games will be demonstrably moot. The potential is there, but only time will tell whether or not Ubisoft and Oculus tap that potential.

      As far as Oculus hardware, just like in my other reply, I will simply say this: what the general gaming consumer values is not the same as what VR Enthusiasts value. Those values are partly related to why AAA studios have by and large ignored VR. Simply put, the VR market is still very niche.

      Sure, there are development hurdles to consider when it comes to VR games versus traditional flate games. But, if the market was big enough, and enough people adopted VR as the main means by which they play games, AAA developers would force themselves to overcome the developmental differences that exist between VR games and Flat games.

      Which leaves only one real reason why AAA developers have not been making VR games; the size of the VR market up until very recently has been tiny compared to traditional gaming.

    • Blaexe

      “I still don’t understand why all the devs don’t work a little extra to port their games into VR”

      Because they would make a loss. And facebook fixes that.

  • Well, with its money, Facebook is providing for sure amazing games to its customers