Update: Oculus has released a statement saying that while it has made timed exclusive deals with some developers, it is not forbidding them from releasing their games on other VR platforms in the future.

Original: Last year, Oculus chief Palmer Luckey said that the only games that are exclusive to Facebook’s Oculus Rift virtual reality platform are those that the company has funded entirely, but according to the developer behind the Serious Sam game series, this claim is completely untrue.

“They tried to buy Serious Sam VR as well,” game designer Mario Kotlar said in a comment on Reddit. “It wasn’t easy, but we turned down a shitton of money, as we believe that truly good games will sell by themselves and make profit in the long run regardless. And also because we hate exclusives as much as you do.”

While exclusivity agreements are hardly unusual in the gaming industry, and they are basically a given for consoles like Microsoft’s Xbox One or Sony’s PlayStation 4. However, many fans and experts alike feel that this practice could harm the up and coming virtual reality industry, as it may fragment the consumer base and result in a world where none of the new VR devices are able to succeed.

When asked if he might get into any legal trouble for outing Facebook’s exclusivity practice, Kotlar responded that he did not believe so, and he does not harbor any ill intentions toward Facebook or Oculus.

“Well, all I really said is that we declined an exclusivity offer,” Kotlar said in another comment. “It’s true I didn’t double check if I’m allowed to say it, but I strongly felt public deserves to know, and I can’t imagine this information can hurt oculus or our relationship with them in any way, but if I’m wrong I’ll probably get some backlash for coming out with this.”

“Guys from oculus were nice to us by sending us dev kits and providing support, I really do not want to throw them under the bus and as I said I really hope they dont see it in such light.”

Photo by lhl