It has been announced that Oculus co-founder Palmer Luckey will leave Facebook three years after it bought his virtual reality firm.

The (still only) 24 year-old started developing VR technology as a teenager and was soon crowdsourcing cash on Kickstarter to develop products.

His original interest was in the gaming world and soon ZeniMax and its publishing company id Softwear (which released titles like Doom and Quake) took an interest in the project and Luckey spent a period working with the company.

US authorities recently ruled that he violated aspects of a non-disclosure agreement he signed when working with the firm.

Palmer Luckey speaking at Web Summit

It was alleged that Oculus code had been written for ZeniMax and later used by the firm. Oculus was ordered to pay $500m to the company - Luckey faced a personal $50m fine

His personal wealth is estimated to be close to $700m. Facebook bought the firm for $2bn.

He was also embroiled in a political controversy during the 2016 US presidential election when it was discovered that he was using his wealth to fund a group called 'Nimble America' which created and disseminated anti-Hillary 'memes' during the campaign.

It is unclear why he has parted ways with Facebook.

"Palmer will be dearly missed. Palmer’s legacy extends far beyond Oculus. His inventive spirit helped kickstart the modern VR revolution and build an industry. We’re thankful for everything he did for Oculus and VR, and we wish him all the best," the company said in a statement.