It was a bumpy road for the Oculus Rift S headset. As a half-stage successor to the Oculus PC VR predecessor, the Oculus Rift, it was launched in 2019 with a mix of new and old VR technology. It managed to make a name for itself as one of the most popular VR headsets, but it was quickly overshadowed by more technically impressive units over time. Even its creator, Facebook, would turn most of its attention to the Oculus Quest 2 just a year after its release, and that may have sealed the fate of the Rift S.
According to Facebook, the inventory of the Rift S will no longer be replenished in conversation with UploadVR, which effectively refers to it as “end-of-life”.
“Rift S is currently still available for sale on a few channels around the world. However, as we announced last year, we plan to end Rift S sales in 2021,” a Facebook rep told UploadVR. “In general, channels that are out of stock will not be replenished in the future.”
The Oculus Rift S may already be difficult to find in some regions of the world. Amazon US is sold out, although you can still pick one up here in the UK for £ 298. If you’ve really got your heart set on the Oculus PC VR device, it’s like the best way to start a shuffle.
The Rift S was an incredibly popular device for its lifespan, managing to rule the Steam Hardware Survey for much of its life. However, it was later crowned by Quest 2, which quickly took the top spot not too long after its late 2020 release.
Even with lots of great alternatives, it’s still a little sad to see the Rift S ride. Without a real alternative for Oculus, the end will mean an end to the PC VR efforts set by Oculus. Rumors of a Rift 2 usually end the same way: it was bundled by Facebook’s suits. Granted, given the success of the company’s standalone headsets, this is no surprise.
At least much of that plugged-in experience can now be easily emulated on the all-in-one Quest 2, and if that isn’t for you, there are plenty of worthy alternatives out there.
You may want to check out the best VR headsets we recommend to see if there are any other suitable replacements. Aside from Quest 2, which is powered by Oculus Link on a PC, the Valve Index is now practically a high-end VR license fee. Nowadays it is also possible to run the game with cheap to expensive sets from Vive, HP and others.
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