VR Development of Windows Mixed Reality Dropped by Microsoft | To be removed from future releases!

I suppose not totally unexpected following the recent announcement of downsizing their XR team, but earlier than I anticipated. Disappointing. Note this only applies to headsets that use WMR as their VR runtime. Headsets using OpenXR variants will not be affected by this development.

That didn’t didn’t last long

First, thank you for your videos. They are much an inspiration for my flight simulation setup. Based on your videos, I acquired HP Reverb G2 VR headset for the MFSM 2020 and it's amazing. It helped me a lot for the procedures in getting my PPL. And also for my Night Rating. Now I use it for the IR procedure pre-training. It's a sad that Microsoft is abandoning the support for VR. And also sad that HP is getting the easy way out and not getting their own support/software, after spending that much money. I do have dual setup with Tobii Eye tracker and it works great (after some tweaks from your video), but VR helps much more. Hopefully it will be supported for a while, before I need to look for alternative VR solutions.

I don't understand the implications of this. The reverb G2 can already use OXR or steamVR without issue and no flightsim to my knowledge requires WMR to run. So all we'll be loosing is the crappy clifftop house that no one wants anyway. If anything it'll be more convenient that VR just closes to desktop rather than WMR when you close the application.
Am I misunderstanding something?

Had my G2 for a couple of years now and only fly in VR so this is a bit worrying. But I guess if I get a couple of more years use out of the G2 it’ll be ready for an upgrade anyhow. Thanks for the info. Happy Christmas.

This morning none of my planes will start. Are you aware of nay changes made in MSFS?

I was just musing to myself how my headset is like 6 years old now, and it's probably time i buckle down and upgrade at some point. And then i see the announcement that microsoft is ending platform support... rip...

Just. Bought a replacement for a faulty one still under warranty which seems impossible for HP to repair or replace the faulty one.
HP is the worst company I have ever experienced in 40 years of computing!

Bean counter desicion making imho, not great for Microsoft’s reputation either hardly a positive step for a technology company

So, no point in me buying the wmr headset i was planning on getting? great. any advice?

Thanks for the announcement Mark, a little discerning to be sure in the short-term. Looking to upgrade next year anyway so not too serious.

‘Deprecated’ <> ‘depreciated’.

Lol I uninstalled it off my Win 10 PC a few days ago as I now have my Quest 3. I suggest MS have seen the writing on the wall recently. I beat them to it….Thanks. Laurie NZ. 😊

This is very disappointing news for sure. Especially for those that can't afford to upgrade to another VR headset at the current costs of these new headsets. I can understand that as time goes by, changes are going to occur, but it seems that the ones with the majority of any particular item are always the ones that are impacted the most. It doesn't surprise me that Microsoft is doing this, and that they know that it will impact the vast majority of VR users. To them it is simply business, and to millionaires it doesn't seem to be a problem. For those of us that are on fixed incomes, that have already invested heavily into MSFS with peripherals abound, it is a huge deal and will once again force the HP Reverb G2 users to make a financial decision at some time in the future. Do I once again invest into a headset that in a couple of years will be obsolete? Or do I buy groceries, medications, and pay the monthly bills that are required to live? I guess time will tell, but I see some, if not a vast majority, just simply getting away from VR altogether.

Makes me wonder if HP had insider advanced notice of this because they suddenly stopped making Reverbs even though it was a popular mid-priced headset.

Ridiculous that they are going to remove it. Why can't they leave it as is even with no further development ? Grrr - I hate Microsoft. I wish there was an alternative to these bastards (and if anyone says the word Linux I am going to hit you with my soon-to-be obsolete G2).

Hopefully with the bad comes the good. VR is cool but WMR to me has missed the MR part. Lets hope for not just better visuals and frame rates with technology advancements but the abilities to control the cockpit with our hands. That said, I hope MS/ASOBO can focus on a program that can allow devs to make this happen within their platform.

Deprecated and depreciated are two different words.

I think it would be only fair if MS would open the code under free-open source software, so other enthusiast could continue on the project.

Thanks for bringing this to our attention.
I am still on Windows 10 and have no intention of moving to 11 (or 12!!!).
I have 2 WMR headsets, Samsung Odyssey and HP Reverb G2.I use the G2 on my Flight Simulator and the Samsung on my racing sim setup. Hopefully I can just keep going with these and Windows 10 until they wear out.
I never trusted Microsoft so I have ignored things like the OpenXR Toolkit etc and concentrated on other methods of improving performance. I can switch to SteamVR anytime, in fact I try it every so often, and with my setups and software I only get a small degradation compared to WMR.
Maybe one day I will have to look at buying a new PC, until then I will continue to get my money's worth from my current setups, for which I have resisted NVidia's pressure to waste money upgrading my RTX 2000 series video cards. These RTX 2080 and RTX 2070S cards now have a much better effective performance than when I bought them thanks to all the DLSS, FSR, CSP and other software that has been developed and released.

this sucks but I think MS has made the decision just before we see the higher interest in pc VR again (like Bigscreen beyond). I assume all additional software (Steam, Virtual Desktopstreamer) will be supported so when that's the case we don't lose, but we gain, because we select which software to use not MS. Windows Mixed reality was in my opinion more in the way sometimes then it did good perhaps I don''t have the full picture, but now worries here ;-)

Mark, thanks this must push me over the edge to get quest 3 and dump g2. what is your thought?

Jorg Newman owes us an answer on this. Will MSFS 2024 support VR?

Am I really going to have to move back to X-Plane for my VR FlightSim Fix!

Classic Microsoft, They exit a platform just as it is about to explode with Apple and Google headsets. They are like a big dumb Titanic at everything they do. Also Microsoft do us a favor and don't think about jumping back in when you are too late. Just stay out of VR for good.

Open source the drivers? Of course not, they're microsoft. They don't care about you. "Thanks for the money, suckers!"

I'll never give a dime to anything microsoft related ever again.

Moved from the G2 to the Quest 3. So not affected.

I think they also will skip VR in MSFS2024!

A few months ago when my HP Reverb G2 became faulty I invested in a Pico 4 wireless headset. Also switched from mixed reality for Steam to Virtual Desktop XR. Have to say that I'm so pleased with a much improved user experience. Even the headset (slightly 'BoBo' modified) is way more comfortable. MS are are possibly seeing this type of change more generally hence their announcement.

Is VR in MSFS in question too? Clearly, they've no interest in VR

I expect to still get hundreds of hours more of DCS playtime in my G2. It is a blast! Well worth the investment!

Hey Mark, All the best for Xmas and 2024 and beyond. I’m more than a little upset as I am about to open my Xmas box which is the Varjo Aero. I know I’m lucky but how do I stand for future flying. Will it still work with MSFS 2020? If not I may well be returning it before I’ve even opened it. Cheers and Regards Brian

Typical MS. Pulling the rug out from underneath us. This seems pretty familiar with how they handled FSX as well.

Since MS has no interest in VR, the least they could do is release the WMR code to open source so those who wish to keep it alive can and possibly improve it a LOT. It's a shame that these mega corps can stop supporting products we the consumer spend our hard earned money on and just decide "oh well, you're S.O.O.L.", you would think doing this would be illegal, but then again, our governments are too busy having their heads up the corporate world's butts thus not really caring about the people that vote them in.
The way meta and Microsoft decide to stop supporting things we buy, makes me re-think if I want to remain a VR enthusiast, buy now, get screwed later, this is getting old real quick.

This sucks and will be a bit of a hit for VR game development going forward I would think. I am considering getting an HP Reverb Omnicept, for development purposes but am now more strongly considering the Vive Pro.

so after couple of years the fully functional product will become obsolete ?🤥

VR was way too cool to ever catch on broadly. 😂😂

W H A T ??????😢😢😢😢😢😢 I guess my future toy will be the TOBI EYE TRACKER! hmmm...maybe investment in them would be good now

I've never delved into VR but I have been considering it for a few months I suppose. Most of this information went over my head as I don't understand what a lot of it means.

For a simple man like myself; VR isn't getting scrapped altogether? This is just one type of VR system that updates are halting for? Thanks in advance

I bought the HP Reverb 2 for Microsoft Flight Simulator. It never worked well. I sent it back and the company reimbursed me about 60% of what I paid for it. Never again will I use that crap.

THANK you for this vital information , will there be an alternative softwear avilible , I have HP reverbe 2 and Varjo AREO .

Throws VR support inside MSFS itself in question too! 😢

this is not cause for concern. my guess is that MS's strategy is to 'partner' with Meta in some shape or form and develop their software products accordingly. For example, xbox games being available on Quest 3, and the Microsoft Office products now available on Quest 3

the internet drama machine does its thing again, everyone should toss away their headsets because a guy who has a history of being wrong about everything VR discovers a line of text saying WMR won't be included in some future version of Windows installation, and nothing more. Any day now and we'll have the Deckard , right?

VR itself is a tiny segment of the gaming market. WMR would be an even smaller part of those. If there is no money in it for them, they’ll pull the plug. Personally I wouldn’t touch VR now. Too many competing technologies, and it’s a toss up whether the one you opt for will go the way of the dinosaur. The last one I bough pt was the original Vive, having a Rift before that. I don’t feel any draw to reinvest in any of that tech.

I saved up for 6 months to buy the G2, took ages to get it set up with the limited helpful info, now this - seems we are taken for fools - most disappointed and definitely peed off.

so microsoft will not support msfs 2024 in VR ?

I read it will at least work for until 2026 and by that time hopefully even better hmd's than the G2 will be available. I also have the Quest 3 which I use for standalone gaming, but honestly it's such a good headset that it's already a great replacement for my G2, might my G2 cease to work someday. And for some positive news it's great to see how much SteamVR keeps improving lately, including a Steam Link app for the Quest 3.

I spent £660 buying my Reverb G2 a few months back and now this. I didn't want a wireless headset.

The Quest3 has way better optics, pancake lenses are the future. And the Reverb G2 had unreliable and expensive cables. Even before this news, if you were telling someone which device to get "now" it would have been then Q3. (I have had 3 WMR devices, it was obvious MS really gave up years ago)