Oculus Developer Giving Free Rifts to Kickstarter Backers

It’s hard to remember, with everything that happened, but there was a time back in 2012 when the Oculus Rift was nothing more than a dream and a Kickstarter. It’s certainly evolved since then, growing into a bigger beast and eventually even getting purchased by Facebook, but still, every story has a beginning and every technology, a foundation--and that foundation for the Oculus Rift was a Kickstarter that raised a humble sum of… 2.4 million dollars.

Not that humble when taken out of context, actually.

Regardless, the Oculus Rift pre-orders are going to begin today, and soon we’ll not only have a good idea of how expensive this hardware will be, but how popular it’s actually going to turn out to be. 2016, as I’ve said, is going to be a busy year.

But for those who first believed in the project back in 2012, well, Oculus has a special surprise for you.
 

“As a small token of our appreciation for your support, all Kickstarter backers who pledged for a Rift development kit will get a free Kickstarter Edition Oculus Rift! And like all Rift pre-order purchasers, you’ll receive a bundled copy of Lucky’s Tale and EVE: Valkyrie.

You were there at the beginning of our journey -- we couldn’t have done it without you. Today marks a new chapter.”

A developer kit was around 300 bucks, and around 7500 donated that much, so that’s certainly a nice prize for such early donors… especially since the rift itself will likely be much more expensive. But still, it’s nice of them to be so generous, and to remember the generosity of those who believed in the project.

So good on ya, Oculus.

If you happen to be one of the lucky few who donated that much, to claim your machine, you just have to fill out a small email survey before the end of February. So get on it before you miss your chance! And for the rest of us--well, we’d better start counting our pennies and dimes.