Report: Oculus planning to launch a $200, wireless VR headset in 2018

According to sources speaking to Bloomberg, Oculus is planning to release a standalone VR headset next year that will occupy the space between PC and smartphone powered hardware.

Reportedly priced at $200, the headset is intended to offer a middle-ground between existing VR options, both in terms of price and power, and aims to help encourage widespread adoption of consumer VR.

Bloomberg’s sources say that the headset is due out in 2018, but that Oculus plans to reach out to developers this October to build the system’s library ahead of its launch.   

The headset itself is reportedly being developed under the code-name “Pacific” and operates without the assistance of a PC or mobile phone. As a self-contained device, the headset won’t be capable of positional tracking. Instead, Bloomberg’s sources likened it to a more powerful Samsung Gear VR, though the device is reportedly lighter than Samsung’s smartphone powered headset. 

While this doesn’t seem to be the device teased back at Oculus Connect last October, Bloomberg reports that a standalone device capable of inside-out positional tracking and equal in power to the Oculus Rift is still in development under the code name “Santa Cruz”.