Two Windows Mixed Reality headsets. Image: KHeresy/Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
The company said this product will be discontinued in a future Windows update and follows a report last year that the company’s mixed reality division is a ‘mess’.
Microsoft has decided to move on from its mixed reality ambitions for Windows, as the products are listed as ‘depreciated’ by the company.
The company said Windows Mixed Reality will be removed in a future software update, along with the Mixed Reality Portal app and Windows Mixed Reality for Steam VR and Steam VR Beta.
Microsoft first introduced Windows Mixed Reality in 2017 as a way to compete in the growing VR market. The product offers various features for Windows users, such as the ability to play games in VR, watch videos in a more immersive way or have their own mixed reality home on Windows.
But Microsoft’s VR division has taken hits in recent years. Last year saw the company lose HoloLens co-creator Alex Kipman, who resigned after allegations of misconduct towards women employees.
A report from Business Insider last year said Microsoft’s mixed reality division was a mess, with a lack of a unified strategy and internal divisions hampering the company’s efforts in this sector. This report also claimed that Microsoft scrapped plans to develop a HoloLens 3 mixed reality headset.
The Verge reports that Microsoft’s job cuts in January – when it sacked roughly 10,000 staff globally – included many employees working on the company’s mixed reality projects.
But while Windows Mixed Reality is being discontinued, it is unclear if Microsoft has any plans for some of its other VR products. The company focused on this sector during the Covid-19 pandemic as a way to help companies deal with the growing trend of hybrid and remote workforces.
In 2021, Microsoft revealed the Mesh platform as a way to let people feel like they’re in the same room as each other. The company also announced Mesh for Teams the same year.
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Two Windows Mixed Reality headsets. Image: KHeresy via Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
