Yesterday, Microsoft reiterated commitment to HoloLens 2 and the broader Mixed Reality program. Following Microsoft’s broad layoffs which was announced last month, there has been several rumors floating around the internet about the future of HoloLens 2 and Mixed Reality at Microsoft.
As part of the layoffs, Microsoft laid off the entire Mixed Reality Toolkit (MRTK) team and AltspaceVR team. Based on these unfortunate decisions by Microsoft, many questioned company’s future Mixed Reality strategy.
Yesterday, Microsoft published a blog post explaining the context and insights on the Mixed Reality program at Microsoft. Find the summary of the blog post below.
- Microsoft will continue to produce and support HoloLens 2, inclusive of monthly software updates.
- Microsoft will continue to update Dynamics 365 Guides and Remote Assist to address the needs of those customers.
- In the case of the Mixed Reality Toolkit (MRTK), Microsoft will continue the open-source approach and it hopes to see increased contributions from others across the Mixed Reality space.
- Microsoft is committed to maintaining compatibility between MRTK and HoloLens 2, including through continued open-source contributions to MRTK when needed to ensure developers using MRTK can continue to build for and deploy to HoloLens 2.
- Microsoft is investing in richer and more immersive collaboration experiences in the metaverse with Microsoft Mesh.
- Microsoft will make use of the learnings from AltspaceVR in Microsoft Mesh.
- Regarding Integrated Visual Augmentation System (IVAS) program, Microsoft recently contracted with the U.S. Army to revise the IVAS product design to address soldier feedback.
I think this blog post from Microsoft has provided clarity to the community around Microsoft’s commitment to HoloLens and Mixed Reality. While Microsoft remains committed to HoloLens 2, what about HoloLens 3 or the future of Mixed Reality hardware at Microsoft? I hope Microsoft will share more details in the future.
