Just a week after Facebook (Meta) announced the name change, we’re already seeing ‘Meta Quest’ branding out in the wild.
Last week during Facebook Connect 2021, Mark Zuckerburg took to the stream to reveal the official rebranding of Facebook to “Meta.” The name change is meant to reflect the companies growing shift in values as it works to expand its ambitious metaverse platform. Zuckerberg confirmed that the company will begin shifting away from the Facebook brand over the course of the year into 2022.
It doesn’t end there, however. According to Andrew “Boz” Bosworth, soon to be CTO of Meta, the name change will also affect the Oculus product line. Moving forward, the Oculus Quest and Oculus Quest 2 will be referred to as the Meta Quest and Meta Quest 2 respectively. Naturally, we assumed it would take some time before the company could begin rebranding. According to a new blog post, however, Meta rebranding is already well underway.
Here’s some context: Earlier today, ILMxLAB (Star Wars: Tales From the Galaxy‘s Edge, Vader Immortal series) announced plans to bring a special preview version of its popular Star Wars VR game Star Wars: Tales From the Galaxy’s Edge to the Downtown Disney District at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California (available for a limited time). There will also be a special edition of the game featured during the Disney Parks Magical Christmas Day Parade on Saturday, December 25th.
“We are excited for guests to virtually experience Seezelslak’s Cantina and meet Mubo (Owner of the Droid Depot!) at the Downtown Disney District activation,” said Jose Perez III, Director, in an official release. “ILMxLAB worked diligently expanding the story of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge and we all hope our guests have a wonderful time visiting the strange and beautiful planet of Batuu in VR.”
Today’s announcement also came with new promotional imagery featuring Meta Quest branding. What’s interesting, however, is the company chose to include a graphic featuring the original Oculus logo. Regardless of your opinion of the rebranding, it’s exciting to see the process already underway. The name “Oculus” has become synonymous with the VR community; that said it’ll take some time before the company can shed its old skin.
For more information on everything Facebook Connect 2021, check out our official coverage from last week. In addition to the name change, the company also revealed Horizon Home, a new Oculus Quest home where you can hang with friends, watch videos, and party up before a game; customizable Horizon Workrooms; new mixed reality tools; and a new XR headset referred to as ‘Project Cambria.’
Feature Image Credit: Facebook (Meta)
