A second Oculus Rift VR headset was cancelled before its production started, according to Palmer Luckey - the Oculus founder (via UploadVR).
Tweeting about Facebook's decision not to replenish Oculus Rift S stock, Luckey commented: "Imagining a world where Rift 2 was not cancelled shortly before going into production and then cancelled again in favor of a much lower spec Lenovo rebadge."
The 'lower spec Lenovo rebadge' in question is the Oculus Rift S - a cheaper VR alternative that released in 2019, co-developed by Lenovo.
Why was the Oculus Rift 2 cancelled?
Luckey, who left Oculus in 2017 amid controversy surrounding his support for Donald Trump, did not give a reason for the cancellation of the Rift 2.
Reports of the Oculus Rift 2's cancellation first surfaced in 2018 when Oculus' co-founder Brendan Iribe also left the company. Iribe was reportedly leading development on the Rift 2, according to Tech Crunch.
His departure came as his vision for Oculus clashed with Facebook's, with Iribe not interested in a "race to the bottom" for VR, the site claims.
With the launch of the Rift S and Oculus Quest 2, we'd suspect that Facebook's desire to make a more affordable, low-cost VR headset ultimately clashed with the vision of the Rift 2, leading to its cancellation.
Oculus Rift 2 specs and features
As the Rift 2 never made it to the production line, little is known about the potential features of the headset.
Indeed, perhaps its similarities to the original Oculus Rift is what doomed the Rift 2. Speaking shortly after the Rift S' reveal, Oculus' Jason Rubin said if the company was to launch a Rift 2, "it would need to include radical new tech like body tracking, eye tracking, [or] a new form of input."
Such a product does not seem likely in the future, however. Facebook has discontinued both the Oculus Rift and Oculus Rift S as it focuses more on its Oculus Quest device.