This Terrifying VR Headset Will ‘Kill’ You in Real Life if You Die in the Game

Remember that deadly game of Hide and Seek in the popular Japanese series Alice in Borderland? The one with VR Headsets working as contraptions that would literally kill people who lost the game. That is coming to life. Oculus Rift, a virtual reality (VR) headset, is taking things to the next level and creating a headset that ‘kills users in real life if they die in the video game. The headset has three explosive charges attached to it. These are programmed and ready to blast if your character gets killed in the game. The charge modules are placed directly at the wearer’s forebrain. Once the player hit zero points, their head would apparently explode. That definitely feels like it only belongs in a thriller series like Alice in Borderland.

Palmer Luckey shared this news

The founder of Oculus Rift, Palmer Luckey, took to his official Twitter handle to share this news. He wrote, “To commemorate the Sword Art Online Incident of November 6th, 2022, I made the OQPNVG, the first virtual reality device capable of killing the user – if you die in the game, you die in real life.”

Social media users were less than thrilled about the entire idea. Many remarked that just because something can be created, does not mean it should be. Others were sure that such products would neither be mass-produced nor allowed to be sold anywhere. A Twitter user wrote, “That is legitimately terrifying, I would be too chicken to play. I wonder whether placebo-ing this for special forces CQB virtual reality training could subdue the manifestation of mental states that are adversarial to battlefield performance. The device is scary to look at!”

For now, the headset is just a piece of office art. Certainly a thought-provoking reminder of all the unexplored places in game design. Palmer claims that as far as his knowledge goes, this is the first non-fiction example of a VR device that can kill the user. However, he is sure this will not be the last.