Brewers return to Facebook on Wednesday - and enter virtual reality

JR Radcliffe
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

The Milwaukee Brewers-Kansas City Royals game on Wednesday will be available exclusively on Facebook, marking the third game at Miller Park this season to employ "Facebook Watch" as its broadcast option. There's also an added twist: the game will also be available in a virtual-reality setting.

The Oculus Venues experience enables viewers to observe concerts and sporting events in a theater-like setting alongside others using the software.

RELATED:If you want to watch the Brewers on Wednesday, you'll find them only on Facebook

Using an experience called "Venues" launched in late May, the game will be one of four available for those who own an Oculus Go VR headset, available for purchase at electronics retailers. It fits with MLB's push toward more virtual-reality content, and the production and broadcast is handled by MLB Network (and uses the Facebook Watch feed).

RELATED:Major League Baseball to live-stream games in virtual reality

Venues sets up essentially a theater-going experience in which fans can observe the event in real time within a virtual stadium, where the game is playing on a screen in front of them and others watching the game are placed in the "crowd." Users can "attend" the game by themselves (in a solo mode) or alongside Facebook friends using the headset and participate in verbal conversations back and forth, as well as overhear the conversations of other Oculus Go users in the vicinity (though the option to block those people is also built in).

Venues is also broadcasting a number of stand-up comedy performances and concerts during the summer, as well.