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Microsoft Kills Our VR Xbox One X Hopes, But Not AR

RIP, hopes for virtual reality. 

Brittany Vincent

June 25, 2018 4:45 PM

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If you were still clinging to the hope that you might one day see virtual reality on the Xbox One or Xbox One X, you might want to hang your hat up with that one. Microsoft recently confirmed that, at this juncture, it's not focusing on bringing virtual reality to the console at this time. That's such a bummer, especially after marketing materials that stressed, dozens of times over, that the Xbox One X was indeed "capable" of supporting VR.

In a recent interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Microsoft chief marketing officer Mike Nichols stated that the company currently has no plans "specific to Xbox One consoles' when it comes to VR products. This is a complete change-up from Phil Spencer's previous statements about eventual VR integration with the Xbox One X, and it's odd that the company has suddenly changed its stance on the matter.

What the company is working on at present, however, is mixed reality and augmented reality, with that of the upcoming HoloLens. A new HoloLens is, in fact, supposed to be coming down the pipeline at some point, and there are special mixed reality motion controllers being created to use alongside the headset to immerse players even further.

Microsoft could have cooled down on bringing VR to the console thanks to disappointing PlayStation VR sales, but whatever the reasons may be, it looks like we'll have to rely on Oculus and HTC for our graphics and performance-intensive gaming and apps. Perhaps there's always next console generation. 

Brittany Vincent

Senior Editor

Fueled by horror, rainbow-sugar-pixel-rushes, and video games, Brittany is a Senior Editor at Shacknews who thrives on surrealism and ultraviolence. Follow her on Twitter @MolotovCupcake and check out her portfolio for more. Like a fabulous shooter once said, get psyched!