Oculus gives free Rift headsets to thousands of early Kickstarter backers

7,500 who backed 2012 campaign will get first consumer unit at no charge.

Kyle Orland – Jan 5, 2016 10:30 am | 59

Those that this early development kit will soon get the consumer version of the Rift for free.

More than 7,500 early adopters who provided the initial funding for the Oculus Rift VR headset through its original Kickstarter will get a free unit of the Rift’s upcoming first consumer edition, the company announced today.

Everyone who pledged at least $275 to get the first Rift Developer Kit during Oculus’ August 2012 Kickstarter will soon be e-mailed a form asking for their shipping address. Oculus will ship the free “Kickstarter Edition” headsets (basically the consumer edition in a special box) to any of the 20 countries the Rift is launching in, and it is working on alternative shipment methods for backers in other countries. Those Kickstarter Editions will be among the first consumer units shipped, Oculus says.

The free headset offer does not apply to those who bought the second Rift Development Kit directly from Oculus last year. People who backed the Kickstarter at smaller levels (receiving backer bonuses like stickers and t-shirts) will not be eligible for the free consumer Rift, either.

“As one of the early supporters of Oculus, you helped make this revolution happen,” Oculus said in a letter to backers this morning. “You were there at the beginning of our journey—we couldn’t have done it without you. Today marks a new chapter. Thank you!”

When Oculus was acquired for $2 billion by Facebook last year, some early Kickstarter backers publicly questioned whether they were being used as a $2.4 million stepping stone to a big corporate buyout—a stepping stone that couldn’t share in the eventual financial rewards. Today’s announcement is a nice show of appreciation for those who put down their money in the days before Oculus, and virtual reality more generally, were big-ticket items in the tech industry.

Oculus’ announcement comes as the company prepares to open up preorders for the Rift on Wednesday morning, ahead of an expected launch in the first quarter of the year. Oculus still hasn’t announced a price or specific launch date for the headset, and a company spokesperson tells Ars that information won’t be available until preorders go live at 8am Pacific time (11am ET) tomorrow. That means potential early adopters may have to make a split-second decision when that preorder page goes up—unless they happen to be Kickstarter backers, that is.