Despite rumours mixed and virtual reality experiences are still coming to Xbox One X

For the past few days, many respected outlets like CNET and The Wall Street Journal have been pushing out stories how virtual reality or mixed reality devices aren’t coming to Xbox One X anymore. Microsoft has repeatedly said that mixed reality content will come to “the Xbox One family of devices in 2018” but people still believe these bizarre and unsubstantiated reports. Well, today Xbox’s Larry Hryb, better known as Major Nelson, clarified the situation. In an interview with Geoff Keighley he said:

“Despite the huge enthusiasm for virtual reality and the rapidly-growing audience for the medium, it’s not going to sell consoles in the same way as a new Assassin’s Creed title or Forza Motorsport 7 can. Instead, it’s likely that we’ll see confirmation of the agenda a little further down the road to launch…we talked a little about that last year, and we’re not sharing any details today, but this is certainly a tremendously powerful piece of hardware, and it’s designed to really drive the experiences that gamers are demanding.”

Hopefully this settles it once and for all because Microsoft has said this time and time again. Right now, virtual reality is still in this experimental phase where many experiences are low-quality gimmicks. Just look at the many obscure PlayStation VR titles announced at Sony’s E3 2017 briefing or even games like Doom VFR, Fallout 4 VR and Skyrim VR. Even Bethesda’s games are a significant downgrade to what we’re used to on consoles. Just like how they changed the console discussion with the Xbox One X, we’re sure Microsoft will want to make a significant impact in the virtual reality space when the time is right. Until then, just keep waiting. Also, just because you’re waiting doesn’t mean it’s not happening.