Palmer Luckey out at Oculus

Six months after Oculus co-founder Palmer Luckey was unceremoniously thrust into the American political limelight, the VR pioneer is leaving the Facebook-owned company.

Palmer will be dearly missed,” Facebook said in a statement first provided to UploadVR. 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.”

What is not known are any of the circumstances surrounding the departure or, most significantly, whether he was pushed or jumped.

The troubles first began for Luckey back in September 2016 when it was discovered that he was linked to a far-right online political group that campaigned against Hilary Clinton in the run-up to the US election.

I am deeply sorry that my actions are negatively impacting the perception of Oculus and its partners,” he said at the time. The recent news stories about me do not accurately represent my views.

I contributed $10,000 to Nimble America because I thought the organization had fresh ideas on how to communicate with young voters through the use of several billboards.

Reports that I am a founder or employee of Nimble America are false. I don’t have any plans to donate beyond what I have already given to Nimble America.”

Luckey was then conspicuous by his absence just weeks later at the Oculus Connect 3 event. It was said at the time that he voluntarily skipped the event for fears he may be a distraction.

The controversial figure has also recently been called as a witness in the trial between ZeniMax and Facebook, which has to date seen Facebook ordered to hand over $500k in damages.

This latest news comes almost exactly a year after the first consumer Oculus Rift was launched.