The world of mixed and virtual reality is a very strange one. On one end, you have large corporations like Sony and Meta dominating the consumer virtual reality space and companies like HTC making research headsets to further the VR&AR space. Then, smaller VR companies are trying to develop and create new things in the VR space.
Unfortunately, there is one company that seems to be unable to crack the VR&AR code, and that is Mircosoft. Not one for the lack of trying; they’ve made some investments in the sector but never really to the level of their main competitors. This is still a mystery because they have the money and the know-how, but they seem behind in every way. And now it seems they have finally pulled the plug on their Windows Mixed Reality world.
Windows Mixed Reality is “deprecated and will be removed in a future release of Windows,” according to the company. Microsoft first unveiled Windows Mixed Reality in 2017 to take on competitors in the virtual reality space, such as HTC and Oculus (which is currently owned by Meta).
What is Windows Mixed Reality?
Windows Mixed Reality functioned as a gateway to virtual reality games, applications, and other experiences. Other businesses, such as Acer, Dell, Lenovo, Asus, HP, and Samsung, have produced mixed reality headsets that work with Microsoft’s platform in addition to the Microsoft HoloLens. The HoloLens 2, which is geared towards enterprises, appears to be here to stay for the time being, as Microsoft updated the $3,500 headset early this year with a free Windows 11 upgrade and several additional enhancements.
How did this Happen?
Microsoft has been reducing its VR branch bit by bit. Following Alex Kipman’s departure from HoloLens last year due to sexual misconduct claims, the business laid off 10,000 employees, many of whom were involved in Microsoft’s mixed reality initiatives, which included the now-cancelled AltspaceVR app.
Opinion
It’s sad to see Microsoft throw in the towel like this, but it is clear that they have identified that they were never going to make any significant headway in the VR space and, hence, decided to cut their losses before it became too heavy to bear.
However, this also comes at the cost of significant job losses within the industry, and while I think many of those workers would find jobs in many other sectors or other companies, no one is ever happy to lose their jobs. Microsoft, like many companies, dived head-first into the VR market without truly understanding what it was; they all just assumed it was the next black gold and had to get their own piece of the pie. Too bad their piece was stale and mouldy.
Maybe this would be a wake-up call to those in charge at Microsoft because they need to start picking up some wins, and if the restructuring going on at Xbox is anything to look at, maybe they have.
Conclusion
However, Microsoft is still concentrating on other VR uses, like its Microsoft Mesh programme, which will soon enable colleagues to meet virtually without the need for a headset. Through a collaboration with Meta, it also began granting Quest users access to Office applications and its Xbox Cloud Gaming platform.
Source: The Verge
Related Post: https://impartpad.com/news/mircosoft-announces-more-board-room-shake-ups-at-xbox/