Oculus VR Facebook Rebranding Tipped: New Interface And Logo [UPDATE: Denied]

There's a big change going on at Oculus VR this week. After announcing that they'd been acquired by Facebook for $2 billion USD in stock and cash, the team felt some relatively significant backlash from the internet-based public. Now they may be in for a second wave as word – the anonymous type, mind you – suggests that Facebook's plans are to rebrand Oculus with a new interface and logo.

Word comes from a sufficiently prefaced "a person involved in the deal who was not allowed to speak publicly because he was not authorized by either company" speaking with the NY Times. It's there that the following blip of information is shared. Take this one with a relatively large grain of salt, if you will.

"According to a person involved in the deal who was not allowed to speak publicly because he was not authorized by either company, Facebook eventually plans to redesign the Oculus hardware and rebrand it with a Facebook interface and logo."

UPDATE: And just like that, Facebook has denied any redesign. Speaking with ReCode, a Facebook representative suggested that they have "no plans to rebrand the device."

The deal Facebook and Oculus VR are working on now includes $1.6 billion in stock options as well as $400 million in cash. Facebook has also included $300 million more in cash dependent on Oculus VR's performance in the near future.

As a bit of an opposite view on the above quote is a note from Oculus VR board member Antonio Rodriguez. He suggests that Facebook "promised" that Oculus VR would be able to "operate largely anonymously within the larger company." He also suggested that Facebook representatives suggested they'd be able to operate much as Instagram and WhatsApp do now, both having been acquired over the past year by the social media giant.