Oculus Founder Claims To Have Created VR Headset That Kills You In Real Life If You Die In The Game

The founder of virtual reality company Oculus has created a VR headset that will kill the user if they die in the game they’re playing. 

Palmer Luckey, who sold his VR company Oculus to Facebook for $2bn back in 2014, says the NerveGear device has been designed so that if someone dies within the game or experience they are using it for, they would die in real life as well.

“The idea of tying your real life to your virtual avatar has always fascinated me—you instantly raise the stakes to the maximum level and force people to fundamentally rethink how they interact with the virtual world and the players inside it,” Luckey wrote in a blog post explaining the project. “Pumped up graphics might make a game look more real, but only the threat of serious consequences can make a game feel real to you and every other person in the game.”

The headset is hooked up with three explosive charge modules that sit above the screen. The charges are aimed directly at the user’s forebrain and, should they go off, would obliterate the head of the user.

The system is still unfinished. He aims to make it impossible to remove or destroy the headset so that people would be stuck inside virtual reality.