Microsoft is Sunsetting its Windows Mixed Reality Platform
- Laurent Giret
- Dec 21, 2023
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Microsoft is pulling the plug on Windows Mixed Reality, a platform that officially launched in 2017 with the first wave of VR headsets from Acer, Dell, HP, Lenovo, and Samsung. Windows Mixed Reality has now joined the list of deprecated Windows features (via Windows Central), and the VR platform will be removed in future Windows releases.
Microsoft is discontinuing the Mixed Reality Portal app, which acts as the main virtual reality hub where users can customize their 3D environment with virtual desktops and launch apps and games. Windows Mixed Reality for SteamVR, which allowed users to run SteamVR experiences on Windows Mixed Reality headsets is also being discontinued.
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Even though Microsoft said earlier this year that it was still committed to Windows Mixed Reality and HoloLens 2 (despite recent layoffs), we haven’t seen a new Windows Mixed Reality headset for a couple of years. Consumers and hardware manufacturers quickly lost interest in the platform, and Microsoft also reportedly canceled its own HoloLens 3 headset.
According to the latest Steam hardware and software survey, Windows Mixed Reality headsets accounted for just 5.7% of VR headsets used on Steam in November 2023, with the majority of users using Oculus/Meta Quest and Valve Index headsets. Microsoft actually teamed up with Meta to bring Xbox Cloud Gaming and its Office apps to Meta Quests headsets this month.
Windows Mixed Reality launched at a time when Microsoft was very much interested in 3D. This was when Microsoft released two “Creators” updates for Windows 10 and also introduced apps like Paint 3D and Remix3D, which have now been deprecated. This is another example of Microsoft entering a new market and then throwing the towel after a couple of years, but the tech industry’s obsession with the “Metaverse” didn’t last long either. If Meta is still investing in VR these days, it will be interesting to see if Apple will be more successful with its upcoming Vision Pro headset, which is expected to launch early next year.