- Oculus CEO Palmer Luckey believes a domino effect has already been set in motion.

Virtual reality isn't going away any time soon, even if the Oculus Rift fails to wow consumers when it releases early next year. 

That's according to Oculus founder Palmer Luckey, who, in an interview with CNN, explained that game developers have opened a virtual reality "Pandora's Box". 

"They're the first people to latch onto this," said Luckey. "The Pandora's Box has been opened. People now understand that good virtual reality that tricks your subconscious is possible."

Although it might be the one name everyone associated with VR at first, the Oculus Rift now has a number of high profile competitors, with Sony's PlayStation VR and Valve's SteamVR getting in on the act.

The Oculus founder, however, believes it doesn't necessarily matter who comes out on top, because the concept of virtual reality has already started to ingrain itself in the public's subconscious. That alone means VR is going to be a big part of our future, one way or another.

"I think our grandchildren are going to look and say, 'Wow, can you believe that in the 2000s the only way to record a sports game or a family event was to take those still shots through a tiny window?'. We're in for a big change."

Read the full interview over on CNN Money.