Virtual reality gaming is coming 'this year,' Facebook's chief technology officer Mike Schroepfer has promised. The release date for the firm's Oculus headset has been shrouded in secrecy until now. He also said people would be able to game in VR on 'something' shipped by Oculus - and said work was progressing well on Facebook plan to build drones to give internet access to underdeveloped nations. Scroll down for video . The move will allow users to see 360 degree videos using the Oculus Rift headset (pictured) The latest prototype of Facebook's headset . Schroepfer showed off what appears to be an advanced version of Eve: Valkyrie, a game that puts users in the cockpit of a spaceship on stage at day two of the social network's F8 Developer Conference in San Francisco on Thursday. 'Why is VR going to work now, when it didn't work in the '80s and '90s?' asked Schroepfer. 'Because the technology is more advanced than before and ready for primetime, he said. 'Each one of these core tracks of technology had to hit a minimum core viability...to get to that sense of presence to sense that you're truly there.' 'You're going to be able to do it in something shipped by Oculus,' Schroepfer said. 'This is going to be incredible.' 'VR is more than just another platform, it can create a whole range of human experiences,' said Michael Abrash, the Chief Scientist at Oculus. 'VR has the potential to change just about everything about the way we live.' He also reveald the firm thought drones were key to getting connectivity around the world. 'This basically mean going to the sky,' Schroepfer says. He showed off the Aquila, an Internet-connected unmanned drone with the wingspan of a 737 and the 'mass of a small car.' It would fly over regions of the developing world, sprinkling Internet access like so much rain. The drones, flying at 65,000ft (19,800 metres), will be capable of staying in the air for months. They are relatively cheap and will be most effective for suburban areas that do not have the cables or infrastructure to carry internet or telephone signals. Yael Maguire, engineering director of Facebook’s Connectivity Lab, has previously told the Social Good Summit that the planes will be ‘roughly the size’ of a Boeing 747, but much lighter than the popular aeroplane, which weighs around 600,000lbs (272,155kg) without passengers or fuel. Facebook previously said the drones will be 'relatively cheap' - although did not specify a cost - and will be most effective for suburban areas that do not have the cables or infrastructure to carry internet or telephone signals. Facebook has revealed more details about its plans to provide web access to the world. Drones as large as jumbo jets are set to extend the reach of Wi-Fi around the world. They will be powered by the sun and hover some 65,000 feet (19,800 metres) above the ground . The California-based tech giant has joined forces with Nokia, Qualcomm, Samsung and other tech firms to develop the planes in an initiative called Internet.org. Today, around 2.7 billion people have access to the internet, which is just one third of the global population. The members of the initiative said in a report that connecting the world is 'one of the fundamental challenges of our time' and they plan to do it using a variety of technologies, including drones. 'When people have access to the internet, they can not only connect with their friends, family and communities, but they can also gain access to the tools and information to help find jobs, start businesses, access healthcare, education and financial services and have a greater say in their societies. 'They get to participate in the knowledge economy,' the report said. The drones are effectively mobile phone masts in the sky and bounce smartphone communications between satellites and base stations on Earth. Schroepfer said the company will have more information to share on Aquila later this year. Yesterday Facebook said it is to begin supporting virtual reality on its newsfeed, with users able to put on a VR headset and explore a virtual location. The social network announced that users will be able to view videos filmed with multiple cameras, and move the viewpoint in order to explore a location. The innovation is being showcased at the firm's F8 developers' conference in San Francisco under the name Teleportation Station - a name that was leaked via an app notification this morning. The  videos are shot with twenty-four cameras working in parallel. 'You can move around inside the video,' Mark Zuckerberg said, 'and view it from different angles.' The company is demonstrating the new video format for attendees at this week's F8 conference by showing off a 24-camera-view of the Facebook headquarters in Menlo Park, California. On a desktop computer, it is controlled by a mouse. However,  the company describes its spherical videos as a 'first step' toward even more immersive videos that we'll view through virtual reality headsets like the Oculus Rift, which straps over your eyes and provide the illusion of stepping inside a digital environment. 'You're going to be able to put on your Oculus headset,' Zuckerberg said, 'and view spherical videos there too.' He also announced that users will soon be able to share content from third-party apps in their Messenger - Facebook's instant messaging service. Facebook aims to use a mix of solar-powered aircraft and low-orbit satellites to beam signals carrying the internet to hard-to-reach locations. The drones, flying at 65,000ft (19,800 metres), will be capable of staying in the air for months. They are relatively cheap and will be most effective for suburban areas that do not have the cables or infrastructure to carry internet or telephone signals. The drones are effectively mobile phone masts in the sky and bounce smartphone communications between satellites and base stations on Earth. Low-orbit and geosynchronous satellites, which have orbits that match the Earth’s rotation and are effectively stationary, will cover more remote areas in Africa and Asia. The internet access would be transmitted in the form of free-space optical communication, or FSO, which transmits data using infrared laser beams. 'One of the fastest growing and most important members of our family is Messenger,' said Mr Zuckerberg. 'Facebook used to be this single blue app and it did a lot of different things, now Facebook is a family of apps,' he said. 'Moving from being a single service to a family of apps is the biggest shift we've made in our strategy in helping connect people.' The Messenger Platform was also launched, allowing developers to build new services into the app, which is used by 600 million users each month. Mr Zuckerberg said it would give users 'more tools for expression'. The new Platform will give users the chance to communicate directly with businesses, for example to change an order as well as track its delivery. Facebook's David Marcus, vice president of messaging products, took to the stage to confirm that apps like ESPN have already built apps that will now be supported in Messenger. Over 40 apps will be launched in the coming days, he confirmed. The initial kit for developers to build their software into Messenger will be available from today, though no general release date has yet been confirmed. Mr Marcus also spoke of Facebook's desire to revolutionise online shopping by allowing users to receive real-time shopping updates via Messenger. This will start a message thread with the brand a user has shopped with, so they can track and alter an order via an instant message conversation. Users can then send a thumbs-up to confirm an order. It will begin rolling out in the 'next few weeks', according to Mr Marcus. 'It's time for us to reinvent how people and business communicate,' he said. Ilya Sukhar, from the social media site's Parse department, the area of Facebook made for developers, also announced that the social network will begin supporting software development kits (SDKs) for the 'internet of things'. This is the idea that all a person's smart devices can be connected together, enabling developers to create apps for Facebook that can control part of the home. Facebook is trying to mould its Messenger app into a more versatile communications channel as smartphones create new ways for people to connect with friends and businesses beyond the walls of the company's ubiquitous social network. To pull it off, Facebook is opening Messenger so outside programmers can build features tailored for the service. Messenger will also be adding the ability to display store receipts and shipping information to help consumers keep track of their interactions with merchants and other businesses. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg touted the Messenger expansion Wednesday during his opening speech at a two-day conference for developers in San Francisco. The push to plant more features in Messenger underscores the growing importance of apps that enable more intimate and direct conversations than social networks. The example of receiving a notification when a garage door is opened was demonstrated on-stage. The F8 developers' conference, which is being attended by more than 3,000 Facebook app developers, is the social network's only major live show of the year. The company, which has more than 1.3 billion monthly users, also unveiled a range of new tools for advertisers, including new analytics tools to monitor ad campaigns. 'All of you are the ones building the services that are unleashing this new wave of expression,' said Mr Zuckerberg, as he returned to the stage. 'It's really our honour to serve you and to be on this journey together. Let's go connect the world,' he said.
Facebook recently bought virtual reality headset make Oculus . Users will be able to explore videos using a VR headset . Promised 'something' would be shipped this year .