Facebook really wants people to understand the value of virtual reality.
After spending $3 billion to buy Oculus in 2014, the tech giant has been developing a wide range of VR initiatives, ranging from the hardware and software behind the high-end Oculus Rift to the software powering Samsung’s mobile Gear VR. There’s also been the promotion of 360-degree video, and just this week, the beta launch of the company’s first social VR efforts for the Rift, as well as the announcement of a pair of VR cameras capable of shooting in six-degrees-of-freedom, a key technique for capturing professional-level 3D, 360-degree live action video.
Today, Facebook also unveiled a software development kit, compatible with major game engines like Unreal or Unity–which together power a large segment of VR games and other experiences–that will let creators of content for any PC-based VR system give their users the ability to easily capture 360 video or still images of their experience that they can then share on Facebook or other social platforms.
Imagine playing a first-person shooter VR game and being able to hit a button to automatically capture 360-degree video of a battle. Or you’re playing a racing game and you could shoot immersive video of the race track. Or you’re viewing an immersive marketing video showing the interior of a new car. You could then share content like…