Netflix is heading into virtual reality.
The streaming giant is partnering with Facebook-owned Oculus VR to release a virtual reality version of Netflix that is available starting today, September 24, on Samsung's Gear VR headset. Netflix will also head to the Oculus Rift, Oculus VR's headset, when it goes up for sale in early 2016.
This isn't about watching virtual reality films, though — it's about sitting in a virtual theater, or virtual home theater, or whatever else you want, and watching standard Netflix video on the screen of your choice. To start, the only virtual world you'll be sitting in a standard living room, but let's hope Netflix is more ambitious than that.
The entire Netflix catalog will be available when the app goes live on the Oculus store, and it should be available very soon.
Beyond Netflix, it looks like other popular streaming video services are heading to virtual reality in the near future: Hulu, Twitch and Vimeo were all announced alongside the news of Netflix heading to virtual reality. Additionally, 360-degree videos on Facebook (which launched this week) will be viewable in both the Gear VR headset and the Oculus Rift. Better still, films from 20th Century Fox and Lionsgate will be available for rental and purchase in the coming weeks.
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