Three Key Announcements at the ‘Windows Mixed Reality’ Event

Image Credit: Microsoft

Microsoft just had its special ‘Windows Mixed Reality’ event. With this, it kickstarted its journey into the world of virtual and augmented reality. The event came just a few days after images of Samsung’s Windows 10 Mixed Reality Odyssey headset were leaked to the public.

Pre-Orders Begin for Windows Mixed Reality Headsets

Microsoft has announced that all of its Mixed Reality headsets will be shipped by this holiday season which includes VR Headsets from five companies: Samsung, Lenovo, Dell, HP, and Acer. People can now pre-order any of these Windows Mixed Reality Headsets directly from the Windows Store. However, before buying one here is a specs comparison sheet which might help you to make your choice.

Image credit: UploadVR

In order to give a quick preview of the Mixed Reality headset features, Microsoft has released its latest advert which focuses on ease-of-use, travel, and portability.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=51&v=0AWhsBNU1jU

Unlike the Vive and Rift, Microsoft’s MR Headset doesn’t need to undergo a time-consuming calibration setup process. The Microsoft VR Headsets come with built-in wide-angle cameras for inside-out positional tracking and motion controller tracking. This makes it a true plug-and-play experience.

I believe that developers of adult VR games and VR porn have a good opportunity here to exploit the inherent features of the Windows Mixed Reality platform. The device should open up a ton of new possibilities to create interesting adult content.

SteamVR Support of Mixed Reality Headsets

Microsoft has already made it official that its Windows Mixed Reality Headsets will be supporting SteamVR content and it’s already available for developers to try their own content within the SteamVR platform. Microsoft has announced that it will make this preview build available to all by the holiday season.

Image credit: Valve/Microsoft

While commenting on the progress and integration of the work, Valve said “Microsoft is providing an OpenVR driver that allows SteamVR to automatically identify Windows MR hardware. From a consumer’s experience, this should allow SteamVR titles to ‘just work’ on these devices. On the dev side, it is also possible for developers to tune their application for specific aspects of the headsets and/or for the Windows MR controllers.”

Such a move will give users of MR Headsets access to a huge library of SteamVR content.

Microsoft Ventures into Social VR by Acquiring AltspaceVR

It seems that Facebook now has some direct competition in the Social VR space from another technology giant who can give it formidable competition. By acquiring AltspaceVR and all its operations, Microsoft has made its intentions clear.

Image credit: Microsoft

The AltspaceVR social VR service is available today on the majority of platforms and VR Headsets. AltspaceVR allows people to meet, share activities and play games in the virtual world. On acquiring AltspaceVR, Microsoft said “AltspaceVR will stay AltspaceVR. Microsoft is most interested in preserving the current community that uses AltspaceVR to connect and interact with new and old friends. These first few months will focus on fostering our community and making sure AltspaceVR remains a friendly, welcoming and vibrant place to hang out in virtual reality.”

In a press release, Microsoft writes “AltspaceVR is one of the pioneers in immersive communications bringing people together in virtual reality from over 160 countries to attend meetups, comedy shows, yoga classes, dance parties, and large-scale events hosted by NBC, Reggie Watts, Justin Roiland, Drew Carey and more. With the AltspaceVR team onboard we look forward to building the world’s preeminent mixed reality community.”

However, just like Facebook Spaces allows users to call their friends in the real world using Facebook Messenger, Microsoft might adopt a similar feature in the future by integrating Skype services with AltspaceVR and thus expand the SocialVR ecosystem.