Microsoft to bring its products to Meta Quest devices

Microsoft and Meta have agreed to a new partnership that will bring the former’s Microsoft 365, Windows 365, and Xbox Cloud Gaming services to Meta Quest 2 and Meta Quest Pro.

Microsoft’s partnership with Meta will transform the latter’s products into productivity devices through the integration of its well-known products. First of them is Mesh for Microsoft Teams, which will allow users to gather virtually in a life-like setup.

“We are bringing a Microsoft Teams immersive meeting experience to Meta Quest in order to give people new ways to connect with each other,” Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said at Meta Connect. “You can connect, share, collaborate as though you were together in person.”

Meta Quest users can also expect the arrival of different Microsoft 365 apps like Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and SharePoint. After that, Microsoft says it has plans to bring Windows 365 to headsets, which is good news as it means making the Meta Quest devices more functional for work by making your Windows Cloud PC accessible anywhere.

“With Windows 365 coming to Quest, you’ll have a new way to securely stream the entire Windows experience, including all the personalized apps, content, and settings to your VR device with the full power of Windows and Windows applications,” Nadella added.

Meanwhile, Microsoft has also promised to support Microsoft Intune and Azure Active Directory for IT administrators provisioning the devices for Quest for Business subscribers. And given that Microsoft is also known for its gaming products, it is no surprise that it plans to bring Xbox Cloud Gaming to Meta Quest Store. Once available, this will allow Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers to stream different Xbox games to phones, tablets, PCs, select smart TVs, and the Meta Quest platform.

Virtual and mixed-reality headsets are one of the hottest technologies available now, which is why many companies are trying to invest in them more and more. Two of them are Meta and Microsoft. In the recent news about the partnership of the two companies, however, we are not looking to collaborative work that will produce a new VR headset. Instead, Microsoft plans to bring its products like Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Teams, Outlook, and Game Pass to existing Meta Quest devices. This is rather odd, especially since Microsoft is also trying to work on MR. Does it signal that Microsoft is leaving this investment? Or is it simply trying to expand the reach of its products to other devices? Or does it mean the company just plans to focus on serving as a VR tool service provider instead of a manufacturer? Nadella’s statement implies different answers for this.

“We’re taking an approach to ensure that our software can benefit users on all their favorite devices, and that’s why I’m so thrilled about what we’re announcing today and how we’re bringing together the power of many of our most popular productivity tools with the new VR devices you’re announcing,” Nadella said.

There are still no specific dates for the release of Microsoft’s products to Meta Quest 2 and Meta Quest Pro, but we’ll keep you posted about the updates of this story.