Microsoft is bidding “adios” to Windows Mixed Reality, a platform that will be phased out of Windows 11 and Windows 10.
The Mixed Reality Portal software, as well as Windows Mixed Reality for SteamVR and Steam VR Beta, will be deprecated as part of the shutdown. It’s unclear when the tech will be removed. The Microsoft Learn website’s Deprecated Features page claims that they will “be removed in a future release of Windows,” but that’s all there is to it. To be honest, the demise of Windows Mixed Reality is not a surprise; it has been a long time coming. According to TheVerge, Microsoft has been “downsizing its VR division” for some time now.
Alex Kipman, the HoloLens team’s leader, resigned when charges of misbehavior surfaced. Furthermore, Microsoft cut off 10,000 workers earlier this year, many of whom worked on virtual reality technology. That division of the business has been struggling for some time.
Continuing in VR
Despite this, Microsoft is not abandoning virtual reality and is instead focused on other projects. Microsoft Mesh, for example, was introduced to Microsoft Teams in May 2023. This enables employees to interact with one another in 3D space by using personal avatars. Although, given the terrible reaction to Mesh, we wouldn’t be surprised if it also died shortly.
Select Microsoft Office suite and Xbox Cloud Gaming features have just been added to Meta Quest headsets. For the former, only Word, Excel, and PowerPoint are available for download. Others, such as Outlook, are still absent as of this writing. Be advised that Xbox Cloud Gaming is currently in beta. You might experience some performance difficulties.
However, in our experience, the app performs admirably. It was a lot of fun playing an Xbox game with the headgear in an immersive setting. Because the Quest handsets have a limited number of buttons, they can make certain titles more difficult. To avoid this, we propose connecting a controller.
Making it easier for others
Despite the fact that Microsoft helped pioneer the “mixed reality” concept, other firms are picking up the slack with more traditional VR headsets such as the Meta Quest Pro and HTC Vive Pro, both of which have pass-through vision capabilities that integrate VR into your everyday life. Apple, Microsoft’s former adversary, is generating the greatest buzz with its new Vision Pro mixed-reality headset. The Vision Pro is expected to be the next big thing in the VR world. It has two micro-OLED displays, each of which has a 4K resolution. Previously demonstrated features include the ability to play over 100 games and watch 3D movies on a floating screen.
It may also be released during the next few months.
