Over the past couple of years there has been a great deal of speculation on whether or not Microsoft intend to bring virtual reality (VR) to the Xbox. The company itself has seemed to zig-zag on the issue, making it quite hard to discover what is really going on. At last it seems, Xbox fans are getting some answers.
Microsoft offers the audience pretty much everything they could ask for during its E3 2018 keynote, with a whole host of new titles announced, and even a tease about new hardware, but no sign of VR.
Techradar noticed the same thing, and set out on a mission to get to the heart of what exactly is going on with regards to VR and the Xbox by speaking to Xbox’s Corporate Vice President, Mike Ybarra.
Ybarra said that there were reasons why Microsoft had refrained from bringing VR to Xbox One X: “For us, we’re going to continue to invest on the Windows side where people are engaging. Our MR devices work with Steam games now – I love what’s happening there – and in the living room there are still, in my opinion, challenges to be solved. But we’re looking at that and we’re listening to customers and fans, but our investment profile will remain on Windows for now.”
When further pressed for details about who Microsoft might be talking to with regards to bringing VR to consoles, Ybarra said he couldn’t comment at this time, but also declined to say there was zero chance of VR making it to Microsoft’s consoles.
Some developers and analysts have pointed out that the similarities between a current-generation Windows 10 PC and the Xbox One means it would be relatively simple to make the Windows Mixed Reality range of devices compatible with the Xbox, but Ybarra’s comments indicate that Microsoft is concentrating on keeping MR in the PC sphere for now.
For future coverage of news from the VR industry, keep checking back with VRFocus.
via Mint VR