For several years, rumors of an Xbox VR headset have been circulating. Will Microsoft, like Sony, move into immersive games? The company will indeed launch a virtual reality headset, but with very different ambitions.
Putting on a virtual reality headset to play Xbox is already possible. An Xbox Game Pass application is available on Meta Quest headsets (it allows you to play streaming games) and, technically speaking, any web browser allows access to Xbox Game Pass. A headset like the Apple Vision Pro, connected to an Xbox controller, can therefore be used for this type of use.
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In the probably near future, Microsoft will launch its own virtual reality headset, in Xbox colors. Will we be able to play Halo or to Forza in 360 degrees? No, since it will be a personalized Meta Quest 3 headset, designed only to virtualize the screen of its console (or a streaming game) on a 2D screen.
Meta wants to become the “Android of VR”
Why make this announcement now? Because Meta, after spending years reserving its operating system for its own headsets (Oculus and Quest), has decided to open Horizon OS to third-party manufacturers. Its goal is to become essential in the world of VR, just like Android on smartphones or Windows on PC. Mark Zuckerberg's group hopes to see its operating system running on many headsets, so as not to leave Google this luxury with Android XR, an operating system which should be unveiled in May.
Already in partnership with Microsoft, Meta is banking on Xbox to get people talking about its initiative. The Xbox VR headset, presented as “a limited edition », will be one of the first products under Horizon OS with the logo of another brand. It should be a black and green Meta Quest 3, with Xbox apps pre-installed, but without any other technical differences. We should be able to do the same things with the Xbox VR headset and a Meta Quest 3.
A product incomparable to PlayStation VR2
With its Xbox VR headset, Microsoft should address a different market from that of Sony which, with its PS VR2 headset, believes in immersive games. There aren't many compatible titles on PS5, but PS VR2 technically allows you to teleport the player to the middle of an open world. The Xbox headset will just allow you to display a giant television screen in front of you, to play 2D titles. It is also a standalone headset, on battery, where the PS VR2 must be connected to a PS5 to work.
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Moreover, since the Xbox headset will be running Horizon OS, it will also be able to control a PS5 remotely with Remote Play technology… In short, the Xbox VR headset will be a delightful collector's item for fans of the Microsoft console, but not at all a headset designed to shine Xbox games.