Palmer Luckey and Co really are building a super team over at Oculus VR. Soon, there won’t be anyone left for them to hire. It’ll get to the point where they’ll end up just picking people up off the street, bundling them into black vans and then putting them to work.
Oculus VR’s latest hire is Jason Rubin, co-founder of Naughty Dog and THQ’s last president before the publisher went bankrupt. Rubin’s new position is as head of worldwide studios, leading the company’s first-party content initiatives.
“There have only been a handful of times in my life where I saw something that I knew would change everything,” said Rubin. “The awe-inspiring tech Oculus is building is a portal into an incredible world that my daughter will one day consider to be normal. The moment I put it on, I wanted to help define that future.”
Rubin is most known for co-founding Naughty Dog, subsequently becoming the director of the iconic Crash Bandicoot series. The studio went from strength to strength, but Rubin’s move to THQ, as president of the publisher, was not as successful. The company declared bankruptcy in 2012.
While it would be easy to lay the blame for the publisher’s death at the feet of the president, the company was already out of pocket and struggling when Rubin was brought onboard. Many of the games being developed while he was at the helm, such as Saints Row IV and South Park: The Stick of Truth went on to be very well received under different publishers.
The announcement of Rubin’s move to Oculus VR comes only a week after the Oculus Rift developer snatched up ex-Steam boss and Microsoft manager Jason Holtman. If the Rift doesn’t end up being the game changer that many are hoping it will become, it certainly won’t be for the lack of talent involved.
Cheers, Eurogamer.