Oculus Connect developer conference announced, Carmack and Luckey to keynote

Oculus VR will host its first developer conference this September. Oculus Connect will bring together "engineers, designers, and creatives from around the world" to discuss virtual reality technology. Best of all, the conference will sate our annual urge to see John Carmack speak at length about his work, given that he won't be attending QuakeCon this year as per usual.

Carmack won't be the only one speaking: Oculus founder Palmer Luckey will take the stage, while CEO Brendan Iribe and chief scientist Michael Abrash will also deliver presentations. According to Oculus's spiel, the conference will boast workshops with Oculus engineers and industry pioneers, as well as the opportunity to get feedback on in-development software and technology. More events will be announced in the coming months, and while the event is 'developer-centric', the general public is welcome to attend.

The inaugural Oculus Connect takes place at the Loews Hollywood Hotel in Los Angeles on September 19 and 20. Applications are open from July 10 on the Oculus website .

The announcement follows reports last month that Oculus VR has acquired Xbox 360 controller designers Carbon Design Group . The two companies have worked together before, with many speculating that Oculus will unveil a dedicated Oculus Rift controller at some point.

Shaun Prescott is the Australian editor of PC Gamer. With over ten years experience covering the games industry, his work has appeared on GamesRadar+, TechRadar, The Guardian, PLAY Magazine, the Sydney Morning Herald, and more. Specific interests include indie games, obscure Metroidvanias, speedrunning, experimental games and FPSs. He thinks Lulu by Metallica and Lou Reed is an all-time classic that will receive its due critical reappraisal one day.