Embattled Oculus Creator Leaves Facebook

It’s been revealed that Palmer Luckey, co-founder of Oculus (bought for $2 billion by Facebook in 2014), is set to part ways with the social media giant this week.

In a statement, Facebook said that “Palmer will be dearly missed. Palmer’s legacy extends far beyond Oculus. His inventive spirit helped kickstart the modern VR revolution and helped build an industry. We’re thankful for everything he did for Oculus and VR, and we wish him all the best.”

It is unknown at this time whether or not Luckey’s departure was a voluntary one.

Speaking to UploadVR, Facebook representatives declined to comment, “citing a policy of not discussing internal personnel matters”. However, it’s worth noting that previous reports indicated that Luckey was set to transition into a new role with the company as recently as December.

Luckey, once widely lauded for his role as the founder of VR startup Oculus and public face of the burgening VR industry, has seemingly become more of a liability than an asset for the social media giant over the last twelve months.

Though Luckey disappeared from the spotlight during the second half of last year (after his involvement financing a group creating offensive memes about Hilary Clinton ahead of the US Presidential Election was revealed), his loss in court to video game publisher ZeniMax over claims that the Oculus Rift was built on stolen technology failed to rehabilitate his image.