In an Interview with Engadget, recently appointed Oculus VR CTO John Carmack confirms possible new specifications for an as yet unannounced Developer Kit Mark II.

Next Gen, On Schedule

Speaking with Engadget’s Ben Gilbert, Carmack talked about his work at Oculus VR and the projects currently underway. With the exception of a ‘secret project’ he was very clear he couldn’t discuss, Carmack was surprisingly candid.

Firstly, the long rumoured existence of a new revision of the Oculus Rift Develop Kit (DK2) was seemingly confirmed for the first time — not only that, but this new unit would include a higher resolution panel  and positional tracking. The only other evidence currently available for the existence of a Oculus Rift DK2 was the leaked slides from April’s GTC Conference. The story, as broken by PCPer.com, shows one of the slides with a tentative timeline for the Rift’s evolution and eventual consumer release (below image courtesy PCPer.com).

oculus-rift-roadmap-dk2

As you can see, the slide indicates a launch window for the 2nd Developer Kit (DK2) as Q3 2013 – right around now. Could Carmack’s comments indicate an imminent official release of a new 1080p developer kit with positional tracking to set developers up for next year’s consumer model?

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Paul James
Based in the UK, Paul has been immersed in interactive entertainment for the best part of 27 years and has followed advances in gaming with a passionate fervour. His obsession with graphical fidelity over the years has had him branded a ‘graphics whore’ (which he views as the highest compliment) more than once and he holds a particular candle for the dream of the ultimate immersive gaming experience. Having followed and been disappointed by the original VR explosion of the 90s, he then founded RiftVR.com to follow the new and exciting prospect of the rebirth of VR in products like the Oculus Rift. Paul joined forces with Ben to help build the new Road to VR in preparation for what he sees as VR’s coming of age over the next few years.
  • kijutsu

    Am I the only one disappointed by a DK2? I guess it depends on their timeline. One can only wait.

  • Morgan

    While this does seem to imply that the consumer version is that much further off, it’s still good news – we all want a strong launch brimming over with content. I was surprised that he wasn’t more positive about the Hydra – are they really looking at an optical tracker instead? Wild.

  • TheHolyChicken

    “Could Carmack’s comments indicate an imminent official release of a new 1080p developer kit with positional tracking to set developers up for next year’s consumer model?”

    No. The dev kit v2 is going to be released not too long before the consumer version, once the details of the consumer version have really been nailed down, so that it is actually representative hardware.

    “Am I the only one disappointed by a DK2? I guess it depends on their timeline. One can only wait.”

    Would you prefer that the consumer version launches without developers having an opportunity to test on final hardware?

    • Paul James

      There has to be some sort of compromise here. You either release the developer kit soon enough so that developers can get to grips with (and give feedback on) the new functions and implement and polish support well before the consumer release, or you just give developers an early consumer version.

      I do see your point, and I’ve made similar before – but I think we’ll see a DKv2 at least 3-6 months before the consumer model. Not that I have any evidence to support this of course. :)

  • ebsbow

    Just ordered an DK a few days ago. Hopefully the second version will not come in the first quarter of ’14…

    • Mageoftheyear

      Probably not, as Palmer was adamant it would not be this year. In any case, I doubt you’ll have a hard time selling it for $200 to someone who can’t afford the consumer version.

  • ebsbow

    Yes, your right.(I almost sounded like an whiner there, sorry about that ;)

  • Untold Games

    It is very hard for a developer to schedule a good time for coming out with a good VR game :) Everything is moving really fast, and timing is critical. I guess the real ongoing war is also about the VR controller… because– what is the best controller for such a environment? STEM? KINECT? This would be a very interesting article to dig in…