Back when the Xbox One X was announced, Microsoft mentioned that there would be VR support for the ‘most powerful console.’ Since then, there hasn’t been any real materialization of this statement. Now, 2 years later it seems that Microsoft is scrapping the idea wholly.
“We don’t have any plans specific to Xbox consoles in virtual reality or mixed reality,” Microsoft’s chief marketing officer of gaming, Mike Nichols told GamesIndustry.biz. “Our perspective on it has been and continues to be that the PC is probably the best platform for more immersive VR and MR. As an open platform, it just allows faster, more rapid iteration. There are plenty of companies investing in it in the hardware side and the content side, or some combination therein. Obviously on phones, augmented reality is a good scenario as well that’s going to grow. But as it relates to Xbox, no. Our focus is primarily on experiences you would play on your TV, and ultimately we’d like to make those experiences more broadly.”
I guess it does make sense for the scrapping of VR as the current state of this technology is in quite a weird space (being expensive, often ill-optimized and not as developed as it should be.)
Thoughts? Let us know in the comments below.