2015 arrival looking unlikely for Oculus Rift

It’s looking increasingly unlikely that the pioneering virtual reality headset Oculus Rift will launch this side of Christmas.

We have not announced any specific plans for shipment volumes in 2015 related to Oculus," Facebook CFO David Wehner told analysts, as reported by Gamasutra.

Oculus is very much in the development stage, so it’s early to be talking about large shipment volumes, and our expense guidance reflects any volumes that we might do in 2015.”

The site also noted that Facebook boss Mark Zukerberg failed to mention Oculus Rift at all in his pre-pared investor statement – a stark contrast to previously where he has spoken at length about the company’s acquisition of the VR firm.

In November last year Oculus CEO Brendan Iribe described the Rift as being months, not years away, but many months”.

A 2016 launch could yet place it ahead of Sony’s Project Morpheus, which is due out in the first half of next year. Steam’s HTC-made Vive, however, is due out this year, while the likes of Samsung’s Gear VR are already available.