Microsoft announced this week that it plans to remove support for its entire WMR platform on Windows, which could make Windows VR headsets inoperable.

A Good Start

Microsoft was surprisingly quick to jump into the VR sphere back in 2017 when it helped a handful of PC makers build the first widely available PC VR headsets with inside-out tracking.

As part of that effort, the company also launched the ‘Windows Mixed Reality’ platform, which baked support for Windows VR headsets pretty deeply into the Windows operating system. For the most part, the Windows VR headsets were compatible with modern Windows installations right out of the box, including a fully-supported virtual desktop system that was in many ways ahead of its time.

Where Things Went Wrong

But for all the right moves Microsoft made in this venture, there were a lot of wrong moves too.

For one, the company made seemingly no effort to court VR developers onto its platform, leaving the Windows Mixed Reality app store practically barren compared to the VR content libraries of Meta (at the time Oculus) and Steam. That ultimately led to many (if not most) Windows VR headset users going straight to Steam for the bulk of their headset usage. That meant Steam was sucking up the vast majority of content-related revenue from Windows VR headsets, leaving Microsoft with little to show for their efforts.

While the Windows VR headsets were otherwise decent and affordable, a few critical pain points went unaddressed for far too long. Most notably were the bulky controllers shared by all Windows VR headsets which had an awkward input layout and worst-in-class tracking compared to contemporary headsets like the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive.

Oculus Touch (left) next to the first WMR controller (right) | Photo by Road to VR

It wasn’t until 2020 that HP finally offered an improved alternative, and while it borrowed most of the best parts of the Oculus Touch controllers, it still had a bulky ring and relied on visible-light tracking.

Pulling the Plug on Windows Mixed Reality

Now, six years after Windows Mixed Reality and Windows VR headsets hit the market, Microsoft has announced that it’s pulling the plug on the platform.

Quietly noted in the latest Windows ‘Deprecated Features’ page, the company wrote that, “Windows Mixed Reality is deprecated and will be removed in a future release of Windows. This deprecation includes the Mixed Reality Portal app, and Windows Mixed Reality for SteamVR and Steam VR Beta.”

While Windows VR headsets are far from the most popular on the market today, we estimate there continues to be around 100,000 to 200,000 monthly-connected Windows VR headsets on Steam.

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At this stage it’s clear that Microsoft is shelving its Windows Mixed Reality platform, but the details of how this will happen aren’t yet known. Specifically, we don’t know if Windows VR headsets will continue to work.

Windows Mixed Reality is baked into Windows as a module that can be installed and managed natively through the operating system. The Windows Mixed Reality for SteamVR plugin (which offers official compatibility between Windows VR headsets and SteamVR) is hosted for download on Steam.

Following the eventual ‘deprecation’, it isn’t clear if all Windows Mixed Reality features will be rendered inoperable, or if they are simply being removed from the metaphorical storefront.

It’s possible that those who have already installed the requisite software will continue to be able to use it. And it’s possible that Microsoft will make the packages available as separate downloads so that Windows VR headsets can continue to work, even if they are no longer being supported. But we just don’t know yet. We’ve reached out to Microsoft for clarity on the situation.

– – — – –

With Apple Vision Pro just around the corner, will the shuttering of Windows Mixed Reality go down as another ‘Zune moment’ for Microsoft?

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Ben Lang
Ben is the world's most senior professional analyst solely dedicated to the XR industry, having founded Road to VR in 2011—a year before the Oculus Kickstarter sparked a resurgence that led to the modern XR landscape. He has authored more than 3,000 articles chronicling the evolution of the XR industry over more than a decade. With that unique perspective, Ben has been consistently recognized as one of the most influential voices in XR, giving keynotes and joining panel and podcast discussions at key industry events. He is a self-described "journalist and analyst, not evangelist."
  • GunnyNinja

    The idea that WMR headsets would stop working is pretty foolish.

    • Dave

      Arn’t they implying Windows 12 when the software is potentially removed (we don’t know for sure), otherwise I can only see that being a mistake from the author which clearly would not be the case unless MS forced the removal early through the patch process for continued support, but they simply wouldn’t do that for Windows 10 or 11.

      • GunnyNinja

        Them no longer supporting WMR should have little to no impact on the portal being available. These are the same people who built compatibility for older OS into newer OS.

    • Anonymous

      While we don’t know what will happen yet, even if it does I am not surprised. Microsoft gas pretty much done nothing but stupidity in its consumer related hardware and software since Gates retired.

    • Sven Viking

      Microsoft have since said that the portal software will be removed from the store, no longer available to download, and likely become incompatible with future versions of Windows after that. They say this will cause WMR headsets to stop working. Fortunately not for another three years though.

      • ViRGiN

        Who cares about WMR. Steam is cutting off Windows 7 support in about a week. THAT is a real horror story, not some shitty WMR.

        • Sven Viking

          Who cares about WMR.

          The person I replied to.

      • GunnyNinja

        Microsoft used to include solitaire games with Windows 7. They removed them. Yet I have them on my PC with Windows 11…

        • Jonathan Winters III

          Yes, pretty lame. You can still get it for free from Micro$oft Store tho.

          • GunnyNinja

            Not the same games. Those are ad laden online games you can get now. The originals are not available from Microsoft.

      • GunnyNinja

        “They say this will cause WMR headsets to stop working”. Please show me where “they” say that.

        • Sven Viking

          Here’s the quote from Microsoft. Can’t post links here without getting stuck in a moderation queue but you can find it in the UploadVR article.

          As of Nov. 1, 2026 for consumers and Nov. 1, 2027 for commercial customers, Windows Mixed Reality will no longer be available for download via the Mixed Reality Portal app, Windows Mixed Reality for SteamVR, and Steam VR beta, and we will discontinue support.
          […]
          Existing Windows Mixed Reality devices will continue to work with Steam until users upgrade to a version of Windows that does not include Windows Mixed Reality.

          • GunnyNinja

            I’m not seeing that they will stop working in that. Existing users already have the software installed. And if the $600 headset a person bought wouldn’t work with a new OS, it seems they would not upgrade to the new OS. Even then, compatibility should still allow it. I’d also bet that by then devs will have an alternative to MS portal software. I mean, Meta stopped supporting the Rift but it still works. By the way, no one talks to that guy. He can’t afford a gaming PC so he hates on PCVR.

          • Sven Viking

            You may be right, although if by “will continue to work until…” they meant “will continue to work after…” they probably should have worded it differently.

          • GunnyNinja

            Sounds like the user will have the option. I just don’t see them rendering millions of dollars of hardware inoperable. Sounds like a class action lawyer’s wet dream.

          • Sven Viking

            Windows 11 build 26052 update notes:

            Plugging in to use a Windows Mixed Reality headset will not work starting with [t]his build. Windows Mixed Reality is no longer available to users as Windows Mixed Reality has been announced as deprecated. This includes the Mixed Reality Portal app, and Windows Mixed Reality for SteamVR and Steam VR Beta. Existing Windows Mixed Reality devices will continue to work with Steam through November 2026, if users remain on their current released version of Windows 11 (version 23H2) and do not upgrade to this year’s annual feature update for Windows 11 (version 24H2). This deprecation does not impact HoloLens.

          • GunnyNinja

            “Sounds like the user will have the option.” So, if you own a WMR headset, would you upgrade to a version of Windows that would render it useless? I think not. People resisted Windows 10 for years when it was released. For far less.

          • Sven Viking

            Looks like it might be time to start downgrading unfortunately :(.

          • GunnyNinja

            I bought a Quest 3. I got tired of the IPD range on the G2.

  • MackRogers

    was the plug ever actually inserted to begin with?

    • ViRGiN

      Yeah, on Reddit and YouTube. Tons have shilled for WMR.

      • Dave

        Arn’t they implying Windows 12 when the software is potentially removed (we don’t know for sure), otherwise I can only see that being a confusion from the author which clearly would not be the case unless MS forced the removal early through the patch process for continued support, but they simply wouldn’t do that for Windows 10 or 11.

      • Mike

        The Odyssey+ was the best all-around headset up until the PSVR2 was recently released, for anyone who cares about OLED-level contrast and black levels.

        It’s still the 2nd or 3rd best, for those who care about contrast and black levels.

        • ViRGiN

          I’d pay double the price for Quest 2 OLED, but i’d never keep Odyssey+ as a VR/OLED lover. These things are shit and borderline unusuable. It was never really an option.

          • Mike

            Sounds like you weren’t aware of the 2 modifications it requires to be good.
            1.) VR Cover facepad
            2.) OpenVR Advanced Settings to use the overlay to slightly-limit black levels, to prevent black-smear.

            Without those, not so great. With them, one of the best all-around.

          • Sven Viking

            Yeah Odyssey+ was a torture device for me without modifications. (Apparently OK for some head shapes though.)

          • ViRGiN

            I had no issues with image quality; the sound was awful, tracking was basically non-existent, and it was driven by horrible WMR. Not even commenting on comfort.

          • Mike

            Oh. I find standard headphone quality to be all I want, which it had. Tracking was good as long as you didn’t keep the controllers out camera view for more than a couple seconds. WMR is just something you have to go through to get to SteamVR.

          • ViRGiN

            Even if one enjoys SteamVR, it’s still paried with horrible controllers, and not something you can really replace. There are only drawbacks by getting into WMR, and they were always there, hence why it was largely irrelevant and not really an option to even consider.

          • Mike

            I have no issues with the Odyssey+ controllers, and you can use any other controllers in SteamVR if you set up lighthouses. SteamVR can be opened outside of VR, after starting WMR, so you never even have to use WMR controllers.

          • ViRGiN

            That’s just “technically working” and actual bullshit. You could say even Quest 1 supports SteamVR controllers.

          • Mike

            Not sure what you mean. I’ve used Vive wands and Index controllers with my Odyssey+. Completely natural.

          • ViRGiN

            Not without constant recalibration, as these these are just not designed to work with each other seamlessly.
            inbefore you say that everything works fine for you… no, it does not. it’s not even worth it. and i’m sure majority of players would rather use quest/pro controllers rather than anything lighthouse for tons of reasons that aren’t even related to tracking.

          • Mike

            Hmm, have you actually tried it? SteamVR tracks controllers independently of headsets, as long as you have the appropriate Bluetooth dongles.

    • kakek

      I had one for a while. It made good entry headset. Low price, worked well enough. I keep just one controller as kind of geek souvenir of my first headset.
      OFC, that was at the very begining of VR. Since then, anyone that liked the experience would have upgraded to something better. Or they didn’t like VR and it was forgotten at the bottom of drawer anyway. Anyway, I doubt anyone is still using one of the first gen headset.

      Maybe some people are still using reverb G2 for it’s high resolution panel, for sims.

    • Nothing to see here

      Oh yes, most certainly. It still hurts to walk sometimes.

      • Jonathan Winters III

        That’s the feeling of corporate greed aka “getting screwed”. ;)

  • ViRGiN

    Don’t buy Quest they said, as it’s planned obsolescence.
    It’s PCVR headset they said, they can’t take it away from you.

    Big fat W for the whole industry. You guys wanted “competition”, i said there is none and won’t ever be.

    Hopefully SteamVR is next. It’s okay as Deckard app for Quest. One headset to rule them all.

    • Stealth Ico

      Yeah that number doesn’t make sense. A more accurate estimate is 10,000-20,000 monthly active users on WMR.

      Yeah though, big microsoft L

      • MackRogers

        Microsoft doesn’t take big L’s, this shit is a write off for them. It’s a rounding error.

        The Big L is Facebook who have poured 36 Billion into VR with little to no return.

        Let’s all exercise a bit of perspective here.

        • ViRGiN

          Let’s all pretend they wanted to conquer world by storm with Rifts and Quest 5, cause they are really that short sighteed. Will that work for your narrative?

          • VrSLuT

            Good riddance. Don’t let your Micro Soft dicks get slammed in the door on your way out! Crapple and those Bad Meta-Zuckers are next!

      • Blaexe

        It absolutely makes sense. Approx. 132m monthly Steam users. 2% SteamVR users. That makes about 2.6m monthly SteamVR users.

        5% of that is WMR. So 130k. That’s public data.

        What is your assumption based on?

        • ViRGiN

          Let’s take way above average readings from VRLFG and set it to 7000 concurrent users. Lets triple that number for daily users. Let’s multiply that by 30 days. That’s 630000 monthly users.
          Far cry from 2.6 million monthly users.
          5% of that is 31500.

          And steam survey data was unreliable for years, there were many articles on that.

          Maybe there were over a million monthly users when half lfie alyx dropped, as then it got 40k+ concurrent users on launch, never to be seen again, and no game even came close to that. Hell, even right now there is only 10k across all VR games (yes with exception of vrchat and stuff).

          • Blaexe

            > And steam survey data was unreliable for years

            It’s reliable enough for that estimate. If it wasn’t, the numbers would fluctuate MUCH more.

            Also you can’t calculate monthly users from concurrent ones. If you don’t get that then I don’t know what to tell you.

            It’s clear that only a few of these users make the majority of playtime. But even if you only use it once a month for 10 minutes – which you will not see in the concurrent users – you’re still a monthly user.

            “monthly-connected Windows VR headsets on Steam”

            That’s RtVRs accurate statement. They don’t say anything about the concurrent use. Only “connected”.

          • ViRGiN

            Which would make 2 million monthly users a massively overestimated number and not really an “user”.
            The survey has had data that doesn’t correspond to any reality, and Valve denied any comment on that.

            Steam doesn’t detect if you are using the headset for even 1 minute – for all we know, there might be 1.5 million PLUGGED headsets that already is covered in 5 cm thick dust. And I know myself Valve was counting me as PCVR user even though I never use it with Steam at all. It’s massively overestimated data. Doesn’t change the fact that PCVR is dead.

          • Blaexe

            They’re literally talking about “connected” headsets. Stop arguing otherwise.

          • ViRGiN

            RTVR is talking about “connected” headsets, but you turned them into users.

            > Approx. 132m monthly Steam users. 2% SteamVR users. That makes about 2.6m monthly SteamVR users.

          • Blaexe

            Every headset belongs to a user. Or do you think they’re owned by robots?

            That does *not* mean they’re being used much or at all. But they exist and they’re connected.

            That’s what the article says and therefore is accurate.

            If people *never* used it, it likely wouldn’t be connected to a PC. Common sense, dude.

          • ViRGiN

            A lot of users own more than one headset.

            If people actually used those headsets, we would see big spikes in concurrent users. But we don’t.

            You are so obsessed with disconnecting headsets – many leave it plugged for months, why not? Do you disconenct your keyboard when not in use?

    • LOL

      Ignorant troll alert.
      Do not feed it.

  • ApocalypseShadow

    When you push hardware manufacturers to create VR headsets(probably with the incentive of getting Windows software discounts for their offices) but made no games for them as a multi TRILLION dollar company, what do you expect is to happen? Microsoft has billions, but just like console, they didn’t support the headsets with games. They made a store but it was no match for Steam. And games could be played elsewhere. In-house games was zero unless you count the Halo demo. FS got VR support but that’s definitely not enough. Where was Forza VR? Gears VR for PC?

    Pico had that same problem. Making a headset is fine. But if you’re not making games and other devices have those same games and more developer support, you’re pretty much dead in the water.

    But that’s Microsoft. Lots of money. But spends it on how they can push subscriptions and services over making something. Kinect had shovel ware and no core games. Kinect 2 was forced and no big games. Hololens was pushed at E3 as a game device against VR. And when it didn’t catch anyone’s attention, they pivoted to other uses and the military. Xbox VR was cancelled and probably only announced to sell Xbox One x at that time. Windows mixed reality had plenty of headsets, no games. Then the headsets had a fire sale in the bargain bins.

    Microsoft canning it is totally unexpected./S

  • RIP. Thanks for having shown that inside-out tracking was good enough to be used

    • ViRGiN

      They have proven exactly the opposite. Quest 1 even with its launch day firmware was the first true inside-out.

      • kakek

        I had a WMR headset, and it was very servicable. I played many games on it. No quest 1 wasn’t the first.

        • ViRGiN

          You just have subpar standards.

          • kakek

            Say the guy that see no problem with the smartphone GFX of the quest.

          • ViRGiN

            I dont see problem with graphics on par for the hardware.
            I never got my RTX4090TI worth of PCVR graphics.
            Looks like nobody did, Gorilla Tag has over 1273 concurrent players on Steam now, followed by Beat Saber. Truly high end PCVR gaming.

          • kakek

            I don’t play gorilla tag. We were talking about my standards and yours, why do you bring up a game I don’t play ?
            Stop bringing that up. You obsession with that game is strange.

            There is no “on par with hardware” when talking about standard. Or I would just tell you that the tracking of WMR was also “on par with hardware”. There is obly what you deem good enough to enjoy the games.

            My standard for tracking was that while I used WMR for 2 years , it worked. Of course I could tell that I was losing tracking a bit more often than I would later with my rift S. But honnestly, for 90% of games it was a non-issue. Most game do not require you to do much out of your field of view anyway.
            Tracking of the headset and controllers within the field of view of the cameras was the same as other inside out headset would be later. I could play beat saber in expert, no issue. That’s the headset I played Alyx on. No issues.

            Wich is why Oculus chose the same method, albeit with a few more cameras, later.
            It was not that different from meta’s headsets at the begining. They shared the same weakness. Meta then improved thing wich each generation, while never completely erasing the blind spots. Even on the Q3, you can lose tracking on some specific situations.

            On the other hand, even today Meta’s mobile games barely meet my standards.

            And of course you never had you 4090 worth of game. Why the hell would you buy that when you hate PCVR with a fiery passion and want if to fail ?
            That’s not a GPU that is supposed to be used today anyway. That’s like buying a supercar and then crying that the roads are not adapted to drive it to it’s full power. My dude, that’s on you for not thinking before buying.

            I got my 3060ti’s worth of PCVR graphics.

          • ViRGiN

            3060TI worth of PCVR graphics lmao!

            > There is no “on par with hardware” when talking about standard. Or I would just tell you that the tracking of WMR was also “on par with hardware”. There is obly what you deem good enough to enjoy the games.
            One would think tracking not hindered by a mobile phone processor would yield better results. And yet it never did, despite your i9 and 3060Ti.

            WMR tracking was never comparable to even Quest 1 launch day firmware. It legitimized inside-out tracking.

          • kakek

            > One would think tracking not hindered by a mobile phone processor would yield better results. And yet it never did, despite your i9 and 3060Ti.

            One would think wrong. That’s the one thing that has very little to do with processing power. It has to do with the tracking hardware, 90%. Wich is why no update could ever make WMR really good. If the cameras doesn’t see the controllers, no amount of extrapolation with the accelerometer will ever compensate.

            Also, I did not have that 3060TI at the time I used WMR. I did not exist yet.
            I still do not have a I9.

            > 3060ti
            Yes. It was what I needed to enjoy PCVR with stable framerates and good level of details. You’re the one complaining the 2000 you spent on your GPU was not justified by the games you played. Well, the 350 I spent let me play just the same, and it was worth it.
            Who’s the dumb consumer ?

          • ViRGiN

            You are?
            The 4090TI had its equivalents in other series as well. GTX1080? RTX 2080TI?
            I never got my money worth at any point of PCVR time. The graphics in VR games are just miles and miles behind flat games from a decade ago. So no, I do not have a problem with mobile looking games running on mobile hardware, but I sure am opponent of mobile games like Vertigo 2 or H3VR running off PC and calling it high end.

          • RockstarRepublic

            Why do you keep saying 4090 Ti? That model has not and likely will not be released. The 4090 class of card is not really marketed towards VR consumption either, rather it targets 4k+ gaming, path tracing and productivity work.

          • ViRGiN

            Doesn’t matter which graphic card. There is no PC power in PCVR games. It’s all a joke. It’s dead platform anyway.

          • RockstarRepublic

            It does matter, especially if you want credibility. If you keep saying you have a card that does not officially exist, how can we take you seriously? Hardware specs always matter, even with PCVR, its just that the high end flagship GPUs are over powered for non-modded VR gaming.
            Once you get into modding, or use VR injectors, then that changes drastically. Just look at the extent people have modded Skyrim VR or the VR injectors which can turn just about any Unreal Engine game into a VR experience. When path tracing starts entering the mix (RTX Remix?), you will desperately want a high end GPU to be able to handle it.

          • ViRGiN

            Cyberpunk 2077 in VR xD
            Yeah, Imma have to label you as brainwashed and braindead.
            Nah man, I’ve played my fair share of VorpX. It was cool 10 years ago. Today I want games that uses what VR is capable of, rather than using it as a giant 3DTV with headtracking.
            PCVR is dead, it’s well past it.

          • dextrovix

            PCVR will always be here, because to produce the best graphics you need the grunt of GPUs that can’t be replicated on my Quest 3.

            I’m currently playing Dr Beef’s Jedi Outcast mod, which I last ran on a PC in 2003. I don’t expect my Quest to be able to run current PC titles.

            But I do agree that playing VR without needing to have the PC on is a plus, but I don’t kid myself that the Quest quality is on par with PC because it isn’t.

            PC usage will never die out, no matter what the area because that’s where games are developed. PC VR won’t die out either, no matter how you keep repeating it has. And now Praydog has produced his Unreal VR mod, I’ve got years of PC games to get through that need a PC to run, and I’ll see them ported to Quest version X in a decade or two…

          • ViRGiN

            > Quest quality is on par with PC because it isn’t.
            Yeah, it isn’t. And PCVR isn’t on par with PC expectations.
            That’s why it’s dead. That’s hwy it’s irrelevant since the 90s. No matter how much you repeat otherwise, or attempt to cosplay VR with vorpx-grade mods like UEVR.

          • dextrovix

            Oh I see, trollololo, so there’s no point having a sensible debate and I shall continue to call you out as one, Blackbeard.

          • ViRGiN

            You can call me what you want, it doesn’t affect me.
            And the truth is still out there. PCVR is as dead as it ever was, and nobody cares about UEVR. Stop clickbaiting. Cosplaying VR is not fun.

          • dextrovix

            Okay Mulder, sure.

          • RockstarRepublic

            Brainwashed? Confirmation bias on your part. Your hyperbolic rhetoric has been noted and dismissed as simply being irrational ramblings or possibly trolling.

            The metric you were questioning involved where something like a 4090 could be utilized. Clearly Epic has spent time and effort into enabling VR conversion for both old and new games. I’m not talking about older solutions like VorpX either.

            Modding is still a huge part of PC gaming, this also cover VR titles. Skyrim VR again is a very good example of where this comes into play.

            Nvidia’s RTX Remix again, brings ray tracing options to older titles. Play Minecraft in VR? Easy right? Now try to play it with path tracing enabled. No so easy unless you have the hardware to back it up.

            Even games like No Man’s Sky VR benefit from much better hardware. In fact, frame rate is critical to having a good VR experience, and to enjoy high frame rate you need high refresh rate displays. This requires hardware to advance, both for GPUs and with the HMDs themselves.

            Oled displays are being developed (See Bigscreen’s HMD), expect HDR to be applied as well. Eye tracking is another critical component that is only recently being added.

            PCVR is not dead, not even close. Only a fool would assume such a thing at this point, rather its just projection on their part.

            Microsoft pulling out of VR/AR means nothing for the market itself, same for when they pulled out of making phones. They simply chose to let market leaders (which they were not part of) continue to compete. Its that simple.

          • ViRGiN

            Skyrim doesn’t require hacking to mod it.
            Injector is basically just a hack, just like VorpX was injecting into DirectX. It will never have ‘proper’ VR game controls, and hence will never be really relevant. Cool gimmick, nothing more. It’s different for cockpit games.

            Minecraft with path tracing? Yeah, cool. Just like eye tracking in VR Chat. Cool.

            The power of PC hardware is completly irrelevant when discussing VR, because there is nobody really to develop for it. So all your hyperboles are completly unnecesarry.

            If PCVR was actually ‘not dead, not even close’, you wouldn’t have to use No Mans Sky as an example. A 5 year old game. What’s next? Quest can’t handle Alyx? Or maybe switch to talk about some hyper niche simulator game? Beat Saber and Gorilla Tag still are far more popular PCVR (sic!) games than Skyrim VR from 2017 ever was.

          • dextrovix

            Discounting native PCVR titles, Praydog’s UEVR mod brings 1000’s of PC flatscreen to PCVR. Hardly dead, and justifies our 4090 purchases… ;)

          • ViRGiN

            Please, enough of this hype crowd.
            People shilled for it for 2 years, and looking at SteamVR stats, it pulled nobody out of real VR. It’s a beautiful day for burned out Meta haters tho! Come on, dont undersell it, its not 1000’s, it’s 11000+! Games nobody has ever wanted to play, but hey, now we can!

          • dextrovix

            I don’t hate Meta, I own a Quest 3 you prick. But I don’t pretend it has the chops to have the fidelity of PC games in VR.

          • ViRGiN

            PCVR doesn’t have the chops to have the fidelity of PC games in VR.
            And you bought Quest 3 because it’s the best, the most reliable headse to date, no matter your price range.

          • dextrovix

            ??? There’s no point using ChatGPT to try and write your sentences.

          • ViRGiN

            whatever you say. for a UEVR fanboy, you spend an obscene amount of time writing comments rather than playing 11000 games.

          • dextrovix

            As do you all over this site, Zucker-boy.

          • ViRGiN

            Gayben.

          • dextrovix

            And you’re the one that said to end it… no chance if you want to get childish. In a human centipede with you in the middle, it’s Zuck at the front, Gabe at the back, but still makes you the shit-eater.

    • XRC

      WMR headset tracking was surprisingly good in consistently lit room, controller tracking not so great. Had Lenovo WMR explorer

      But overall impressive as low friction alternative to lighthouse base station or constellation cameras. It’s only got better since.

      Controllers were disappointing, very boxy, cheap inputs, weak(anemic) haptics, visible led tracking =high power budget=short runtime

  • Kissenschlachter

    The end is nigh

  • nicki gentry

    microsoft for some reason feels like the new sega, sega kept releasing hardward that always failed and eventually it led to sega pulling out of the console business and microsoft might kill the xbox too, the only difference is that some of sega’s games are actually good, microsoft only has one good game that game is doom.

    • Arno van Wingerde

      A few MSFS players might disagree…

  • Paul Bellino

    BYE BYE GOOD RIDANCE. Microsoft are losers with no understand about VR

    • Arno van Wingerde

      Hm…. they partnered with Meta, which seems like a sensible decision for both of them.

  • Andrew Jakobs

    I wonder how much impact this will have on the most popular WMR headset today, the HP reverb G2. Maybe HP will provide an OpenXR/SteamVR native driver or if people have to rely on community created drivers.
    But then again maybe the removed support is like with SMB which was also officially removed, but still available through download.

  • dextrovix

    Microsoft do this to a lot of their software, I never trust them to not drop something down the line. So it’s no surprise that WMR development stopped, it’s typical behaviour.

    • Andrew Jakobs

      You mean any IS builder has done that. So Apple is also not to be trusted.

      • dextrovix

        Apple could also do this. Mind you, they could just not develop their hardware any further, they don’t have to depreciate a feature.

        But if there’s no software either (and with Apple, you can’t easily roll your own) then their solution could die a death.

        Microsoft put no effort into promotion, or software, apart from offering the platform. No wonder they dropped it, I think they expected everyone else to do the leg work.

  • sfmike

    Corporate America has a really hard time making decisions that don’t lose them money. Any product that doesn’t return a 1000% increase in profit by the next quarter is considered a failure and results in layoffs and corporate restructuring. Predatory capitalism at its worst.

  • Dragon Marble

    When the dust of XR history settles true visionaries will stand out from all the opportunists.

  • ViRGiN

    No manufacturer wanted to trust Valve either.

    • LOL

      Ignorant troll alert.
      Do not feed it.

      • ViRGiN

        Ignorant troll alert.
        Do not feed that “thing”.

        • LOL

          Ignorant troll alert.
          Do not feed it.

  • Andrew Jakobs

    But Meta/oculus also ditched PC support and even Go support. Let’s not forget google’s daydream framework. So other brands are also not to be trusted.

    • eadVrim

      Rift S works well with the Oculus PC App.
      There where a partnership between Microsoft and these companies. Microsoft software and other the hardware.
      $50 USD Daydream is not like $600 HP Reverb that still in use in Steam.

    • Anonymous

      Except they only just updated firmware on PC app several weeks ago. Learn to get your f facts right before you make a fool of youself.

  • xyzs

    It didn’t work because MS never believed in their own thing…

  • Sven Viking

    The general point doesn’t change that much, but 36 billion out of 1 trillion is 36 dollars rather than 36 cents.

  • Guest

    If might makes right then go suckup to the Apple power that be, like Ben. It’s ironic that Twitter which is owned by the richest guy never censors comments like the tech giant’s minions do on this site!

  • gothicvillas

    So much effort and money in spent on vr hardware and not so much on VR content. Imo 1st make that VR content what everyone craves and then try to sell vr hardware.

    • Arno van Wingerde

      Agreed; but with Unity now supporting VR, it seems like a relatively small effort to make a game somewhat VR compatible. oTOH, the hardware is still mediocre until the AVS, then several parties will still have to release affordable 4K OLED screen and graphics hardware to drive all those pixels.

  • Thomas K Sharpless

    I own several VR headsets, including a Samsung Odyssey. I rarely play games on them, but do use them regularly for viewing 3D VR photos and videos, both from the web and ones that I create. I use the Odyssey only under Steam, and would be happy if the WMR Portal had never existed. It is almost perfectly useless, as a UI to Windows or for anything else. And except for gaming, Steam is almost useless, too. Once they go away, I hope someone will hack an alternative binding to webXR to keep WMR headsets usable for browsing.

  • Atomica

    I’ll miss WMR. For many years, I could point to it and say ‘You can get into VR for under $100 and have a good time’. While the controllers were subpar, it was perfectly good and convenient for most PCVR games I have in my library. Microsoft was likely interested in just having a more affordable platform for people to develop UWP applications or for the Hololens ecosystem – but with the Hololens lead exiled for good reason, and the suffering military contracts it was always destined to be EOLed.

    • Andrew Jakobs

      But hololens isn’t reliant on WMR.

      • Atomica

        WMR largely *seemed* to start as a developer kit for ‘Windows Holographic’, the Windows App ecosystem you see in WMR & the operating system of the Hololens. Many major feature updates to WMR as a platform followed updates to the Hololens project.

  • Jim Cherry

    if vision pro sells well in the near future, ms will just restart their vr efforts under new leadership and branding. the former mixed reality lead executive at ms was kind of a dirtbag.

    • Andrew Jakobs

      They are already part of the OpenXR consortium, so that’s just the replacement of WMR, next to their Mesh platform.

  • Felix Uptempo

    Hello, I would like to request a press release from RoadtoVR. However, I haven’t been able to contact you for two weeks. Please let us know your contact point.

  • Keith James

    I had a feeling this wouldnt last. It was very underwhelming and I found myself constantly going back to my Oculus Rift at the time.

  • Meh

    I have one of these bricks lying in its coffin somewhere in boxes, can’t remember where I put it I don’t think I will ever get that refund. What did I learn about M$ hardware, DOA after the fad passes usually after the year is over. I will never buy M$ hardware again lesson learned, their an absolute shit show that sell you snake oil.