Chris Jurney, former Senior Programmer at Supergiant Games (Bastion, Transistor) has left the company to work for Facebook-owned Oculus VR.
The news of Chris Jurney’s change of career was revealed, as much of game news seems to be nowadays, via a post to his Twitter.
I’m joining @Oculus at the end of the month to help make VR awesome.
— Chris Jurney (@jurney) June 16, 2014
Chris Jurney’s programming experience goes far beyond Supergiant’s small if well received indie offerings. Chris has previously worked for both Relic and Doublefine as well, on everything from Dawn of War 2 to Brutal Legend. With such a hefty portfolio, the reasons behind Oculus VR wanting him are quite obvious.
Oculus VR, producers of the Oculus Rift virtual reality display, has received much criticism of late over the company’s buy-out by Facebook. Many gamers felt alienated by the company with the announcement that the social media giant would be in control of the Oculus Rift, and the rumor mill has been active concerning just what, if any, affect Facebook’s influence will have on the future of the promising peripheral.
Despite these reservations for the product’s future, Facebook’s money has done the company some good as far as talent acquisiton is concerned. Chris Jurney is only the latest in the dream team of talented game veterans Oculus has been working to assemble. Industry great John Carmack has long had a hand in the Oculus Rift’s development, and other recent additions to the team include both Jason Holtman (formerly of Valve) and Jason Rubin (of Naughty Dog.) So much development talent for a company that has yet to officially release a product is a testament to the high hopes many in the industry have for the future of the Oculus Rift and what it might mean for the evolution of gaming as a whole.
Beyond his initial tweet Chris Jurney also shared email with gaming site Polygon concerning his departure from Supergiant and new position with Oculus VR:
“I think we’re on the cusp of truly great fully immersive virtual experiences, and I want to help make that a reality. I’ll be on a small team doing prototypes, which is my favorite type of work. I’m really looking forward to getting my hands dirty in virtual space.”
Being part of the Oculus VR team will no doubt provide Chris with plenty of opportunities to indulge his passion for VR.