Palmer Luckey is an unusual figure. As the founder of Oculus in 2012 and the designer of the iconic Oculus Rift before Facebook acquired the company in 2014, it's no surprise that Luckey is credited with shaping modern VR. However, layers of controversy cloud his most significant achievements.
After Facebook fired him for donating to pro-Donald Trump groups, Luckey founded Anduril Industries, a military defense company specializing in autonomy. Oh, and he’s also releasing some custom Game Boy consoles that look pretty cool.
While many credit his success with Oculus as the main reason for the diverse range of options in the best VR headsets list in 2024, Luckey hasn’t completely distanced himself from virtual reality. A few years ago, the Oculus founder created a VR headset that could kill you, and now, he’s announcing a military-focused headset.
Given the "invincible technomancers" Luckey raised funds for, and the fact that the military spent billions on purchasing HoloLens headsets from Microsoft, it's no surprise that the Oculus founder is merging his two favorite industries. Unfortunately, many soldiers using HoloLens felt at risk with the headset, so we can't imagine Luckey's upcoming device will fare much better.
In an interview on the AWE web series, Luckey stated that his upcoming device for Anduril Industries will be a VR headset "driven by military requirements," but he’s not ruling out consumer use, adding, "It’s also going to be used for non-military stuff. It’s really cool."
Unfortunately, there’s little information beyond the device's market focus. While most people will be looking for a VR headset to play the best PCVR games, Luckey, unsurprisingly, is catering to the military. Given that his company works with the US Department of Defense, it’s no surprise Anduril Industries is targeting a very niche market with this VR headset.
In any case, details are scarce right now. However, we look forward to seeing what Luckey’s company is developing in the VR market, even if it doesn't appeal to general audiences.