Update (April 25, 12pm ET): Meta confirms website rebranding and new retail store opening in Burlingame, California.
what you need to know
- Visiting Oculus.com is now redirected to the Meta/Facebook Store page instead.
- Oculus accounts and orders placed prior to April 25, 2022 will continue to be processed through the legacy Oculus store via dedicated store links.
- Meta continues to remove Oculus branding from anywhere it’s mentioned, including Oculus logos, which are mostly replaced on new Quest 2 headsets.
- Also, on May 9th, Meta will open a new retail store where Meta products can be tried first hand.
Starting today, April 25, 2022, people visiting the Oculus website will be greeted with a very different store landing page. Oculus.com now automatically redirects to store.facebook.com with only meta names and logos displayed throughout the page. In fact, if you click your Facebook icon in the top right corner, you’ll know that you need to visit the Oculus profile page to manage your Oculus account settings and view Oculus orders placed before April 25, 2022.
The site’s relaunch coincides with the opening of Meta’s first retail store in Burlingame, California. For more information on this retail experience, see the update section below. From the looks of it, it looks like the Oculus Quest 2 name is now more dead than ever, slowly being replaced by the Meta Quest 2 name on just about everything.
Amazing Results @MetaQuestVR Honestly, this rebranding was really only done for the sake of the investors, not to please the consumers. pic.twitter.com/IrxXZxoSdLApril 21, 2022
See more
The company intends to continue pushing the name change, while users on Twitter regularly point out that Google search trends for the Oculus name have only grown since last fall’s Meta rebrand and the Meta Quest 2 name doesn’t seem to be catching on. At the very least, consumers will continue to see more meta logos instead of Oculus logos when deciding between the 128GB and 256GB Quest 2
Given that accounts are still managed through the legacy Oculus stores, it’s not clear how Meta will proceed with its plans to do away with forced Facebook login on Quest headsets for good. Many are hoping that will happen sooner rather than later – something we just mentioned in the latest episode of the Android Central podcast – but one thing is certainly clear: the Oculus name is on its way out, probably forever.
To update
(Image credit: Meta)
Meta launched the new website to coincide with its first retail store opening May 9, 2022 in Burlingame, California. In the 1,550-square-foot store, people can try out a variety of Meta-branded products, including Portal – which was just rebranded from Facebook Portal to Meta Portal with the store launch – as well as Ray-Ban Stories and Meta Quest 2.
The Quest 2 section of the store allows potential customers to try Quest 2 for themselves, alongside the choice to play Beat Saber, GOLF+, Real VR Fishing, or Supernatural. The user’s experience is beamed onto the giant curved LED screen in this corner of the store, and a 30-second mixed reality clip of the demo experience can be downloaded to share on your favorite social media platform or friends to share.
The store is open Monday through Friday from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and is located at 322 Airport Blvd in Burlingame, California.
Meta Quest 2
Meta Quest 2 is the easiest and cheapest way to get into VR. Put it on a play! No cables, no computer, no clutter. Just fun.