Xbox head Phil Spencer has indicated that Microsoft and the Xbox team have no plans on incorporating VR as they prepare for the release of Xbox Scarlett.
“I have some issues with VR,” said Spencer in an interview with Stevivor. “It’s isolating and I think of games as a communal, kind of together experience. We’re responding to what our customers are asking for and… nobody’s asking for VR. The vast majority of our customers know if they want a VR experience, there’s places to go get those. We see the volumes of those on PC and other places.”
So does that mean that the Xbox team will never pivot towards VR? Spencer suggests that they may eventually, but it really comes down to how profitable the VR scene proves to be.
“Nobody’s selling millions and millions [of VR headsets],” Spencer says. “I think we might get there [eventually]. But yeah, that’s not where our focus is.”
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Spencer’s statements come at an interesting time. Not only are we entering a new generation of gaming that will seemingly see Sony continue their push for the growth of VR technology, but Valve just made quite the splash by revealing Half-Life: Alyx; a new Half-Life game exclusive to VR. On paper, that should be the biggest VR game released to-date.
Still, the VR market isn’t exactly booming in comparison to other forms of gaming technology, and Microsoft could always change their plans down the road. They may be a little behind at that point, but they could always also just expand their interests in AR technology.
Matthew Byrd is a staff writer for Den of Geek. He spends most of his days trying to pitch deep-dive analytical pieces about Killer Klowns From Outer Space to an increasingly perturbed series of editors. You can read more of his work here or find him on Twitter at @SilverTuna014.
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