Facebook cuts Oculus price by $200 in Summer of Rift sale

Facebook-owned Oculus has cut the price of the Oculus Rift headset and Touch controllers, as part of its Summer of Rift promotion.

The headset and controller bundle has dropped from $599 to $399 for an unspecified limited time. At £399, the price drop is slightly less impressive in the UK, down from £499.

The promotion will also see a sale on Rift and Gear VR titles in the Oculus Store, and select retail partners offering $100 Oculus Store credit for anyone who buys a Rift headset.

Its the second big price drop for the VR headset, which was originally sold at an RRP of $799. 

“What we learned with the price cuts is that price matters,” Oculus VP of content Jason Rubin told Fortune

With cost one of the biggest barriers to adoption of VR, Facebook seems to be attempting to make the Rift a more viable mainstream proposition – though, as with any PC-dependent headset, there is still the issue of expensive VR-ready desktops. Rubin himself said the sale was intended to  “test a mass-market price”.

What will happen to the price once this limited time offer is over – and whether it depends on the results of this “test” – remains to be seen.