Following months of steep discounts, most of the Windows VR headsets have vanished from Microsoft’s online store and are showing limited or no stock at other retailers. Microsoft has yet to offer an explanation, but signs are pointing toward discontinuation of some headsets.

Update (July 8th, 2019): Since the original article was published, the Lenovo Explorer headset has also vanished from the Microsoft Store, leaving just the Samsung Odyssey+ and the Asus VR headset (though the latter remains out of stock).

Responding to Road to VR’s inquiry about the disappearance of most of the Windows VR headsets from the company’s store, a Microsoft spokesperson said, “While select Windows Mixed Reality headsets are currently out of stock at the Microsoft Store, Samsung HMD Odyssey+ Windows Mixed Reality headsets remain available,” but offered no further information.

Original Article (June 24th, 2019): Six different companies have offered one or more Windows VR headsets—Samsung, Lenovo, HP, Dell, Asus, and Acer—since the introduction of the Windows Mixed Reality platform back in 2017. Previously, many of these headsets could be found at Microsoft’s online store and elsewhere.

For at least a week, the Windows Mixed Reality headsets store page has show just three headsets, two of which are out of stock. Elsewhere, signs point to the possibility of discontinuation.

Image captured by Road to VR

Samsung’s official site is no longer list the original Odyssey headset for sale, though continues to show it as a “Support Only Product.” The newer Odyssey+ is still for sale.

At Best Buy, the Dell VR headset is seeing a “clearance” discount, while the Acer VR headset is sold out. (The only other headset available from Best Buy, HP Reverb, is also listed as sold out, but it was just launched and we know that more stock is due in July)

On Amazon US, the Dell, HP (original), Lenovo, and Acer VR headsets are all listed as having “Only X left in stock,” with most showing in the single digits. The Asus headset is “currently unavailable,” while the original Odyssey headset appears to be in good stock.

Image captured by Road to VR

At Dell’s online store, searching ‘mixed reality’ returns results for the Odyssey+, HTC Vive, Vive Pro, and DAQRI smart glasses, but not the company’s own VR headset. At the online stores of Lenovo, Acer, and Asus, I’ve also been unable to find product pages where the headsets could be purchased. HP’s original VR headset appears in stock at the company’s online store.

Considering the underlying similarities between the headsets, it’s possible that a common component is short on stock and has caused manufacturing delays for a slew of Windows VR headsets. It also seems plausible that many of the headsets have been discontinued as Microsoft and its hardware partners have shown minimal enthusiasm for the VR side of the Windows Mixed Reality Platform in the years following its launch.

Road to VR contacted Microsoft about the disappearance of many of the Windows VR headsets from its store; the company has been in contact but has not offered an official comment on the situation after more than a week.

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Ben is the world's most senior professional analyst solely dedicated to the XR industry, having founded Road to VR in 2011—a year before the Oculus Kickstarter sparked a resurgence that led to the modern XR landscape. He has authored more than 3,000 articles chronicling the evolution of the XR industry over more than a decade. With that unique perspective, Ben has been consistently recognized as one of the most influential voices in XR, giving keynotes and joining panel and podcast discussions at key industry events. He is a self-described "journalist and analyst, not evangelist."
  • Probably getting ready to unload a swath of new headsets. The HP Reverb is based on the most recent Qualcom Reference Design, just as most of the earlier Windows MR headsets were based on the earlier Qualcom Reference Design.

    2160×2160 per eye FOR EVERABODDY!

    • Nepenthe

      So the most recent reference design sticks with two cameras? As that is the most glaring issue common to WMR, I’m baffled that they didn’t choose to expand this.

      • johann jensson

        Because not the tracking is the issue – it’s the resolution and the SDE. WMR tracking is fine for most games, but try to play Skyrim VR or similar on 1600×1400 per eye and you’ll feel half blind.

        • Nepenthe

          I disagree. The controller tracking drops were usually somewhere between ‘noticeable’ and ‘game-breaking’ for me, with ‘annoying’ and ‘irritating’ in the middle.

        • Johnny D.

          Valve Index have the same resolution 1440×1600/eye, is better than oled because use LCD and it has 33% more subpixels and it can run at 80/90/120/144Hz, also has better controllers and tracking.
          From a new headset I want that 2160×2160/eye resolution is more important than most people think.Higher resolution will be better even if it means undersampling for now and waiting for a better GPU.
          Don’t believe me? use 200-250% supersampling on any headset and you will know what I mean.
          Warning: If your GPU cannot handle it your FPS will be pretty low, try to not move too much if that is the case.

          • Andrew Jakobs

            But the problem is, before GPU’s can drive a 2160×2160@90+ fps
            per eye display with all the AAA fidelity people want, it’ll take at least another generation GPU before that’s really feasible.. So that’s about 2 years from now, why buy a headset now with that kind of resolution if you can’t really use it for another 2 years, in which headsets might already have progressed considerably.. I’d rather buy a cheaper headset with a slightly lower resolution display and decent tracking, than spending twice the ammount for a headset that’s only slightly better..

          • Johnny D.

            True, It’s better to buy a cheaper headset for now. Rift S might be the best choice, it has same ppd as Index.
            2080Ti can handle 2160×2160 at 90fps easily even with some SS.
            I got this GPU and I’m using 2.0 SS in all games on Rift CV1. It feels like a totally different headset and after a while SDE is not that obvious anymore, it’s a great experience. I’m even consider to keep this HMD until I can buy one with 2160×2160/eye or higher resolution and decent tracking and controllers.

          • Andrew Jakobs

            k, I should have mentioned, GPU’s for affordable consumer prices, RTX2080ti is not what I call an affordable price. more like $200-$350 for a midrange (at least that was long time in the past, now midrange is more like $500-$600)..

          • Johnny D.

            Yep, you are right.

          • Daniel GigaGo

            Render with lower resolution is the way to go now, but a least when it is scaled to your VR headset screen, there will be no screen door effect anymore because the LCD have a lot of sub-pixels

      • Looks like the reference design is open — the HTC Cosmos looks to be based on the QRD as well, but has 6 cameras. So the 2-camera setup is a Microsoft choice.

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  • Oneben

    God I hope this is a sign of gen 2 WMR headsets. The Odyssey+ was a slight improvement, but rumors have been going for ages that Samsung has a new HMD waiting in the wings, plus with HP’s reverb I’m cautiously optimistic WMR will be around a while longer. Still needs an optional external sensor/camera.

    • Shawn MacDonell

      It’s doubtful Microsoft will make any significant push for the consumer space in regards to WMR (therefore partners will likely opt for enterprise similar to HP and Acer, though I expect Samsung to continue their consumer WMR push given the Odyssey’s general success compared to the reference WMR headsets), also considering the lackluster response from consumers’ pockets due to Microsoft’s seemingly unrealistic expectations of VR (leading to the lessening of “immersive headsets” to WMR’s near-term future).

      WMR isn’t going anywhere, but the consumer space will no longer be a primary target for most partner companies outside Samsung more likely than not.

      • Sandeman21

        Microsoft has actually made the biggest push for VR by creating the WMR specification, and showing everyone how to do VR right. They established the term Mixed Reality when media was laughing at them, now they all copied them. Both their HoloLens paradigm and their MR paradigm.

        The original Odyssey very much a reference WMR headset except the headphones which made it a more complete offering. The idea with reference designs is to give a strong base for OEMs to compete on. The absolute base spec. Somethign they are supposed to build on. That is what Odyssey + is. An improvement over the Gen1 reference design.

        Your analysis is poor at best. HP and Samsung are coming strong with top of the line WMR headsets. Others too.

        • Schorsch

          They made “the biggest push”…uhm…yet to me it looks like WMR flopped…while Oculus etc. is currently making bank with Quest. What did you smoke? And you think MS showed everyone “how to do VR right”…with crappy controllers and abysmal WMR tracking? If WMR is so great as you claim it is, why do you think is no-one on forums and sites raving about WMR..and the majority of people go Quest, Rift or Vive/Index, or Pimax even? (Especially since, eg. Lenovo Explorer would otherwise be a great and even cheaper alternative to, say, Rift S). Reason: Crappy tracking and crappy controllers. And this is important if you do not just use WMR for sims. VR is more than just slightly better resolution. Much more.

          • Sandeman21

            sure, if you call everyone copying them a failure ,they failed spectacularly. :D

    • Sandeman21

      Odyssey+ was just a small update. Not meant to be Gen2. More like 1.5 or less. Samsung is working on a proper Gen2 WMR headset. In fact, some say it is working on multiple new headsets.

      https://www.trustedreviews.com/news/samsungs-planning-multiple-new-vr-headsets-oculus-quest-worried-3830672

  • Kyokushin

    2nd WMR gen incoming. Reverb, Acer and probably Samsung will come.

    • Shawn MacDonell

      At high prices targeting enterprise use, yes. Consumer-oriented devices at $399 or below (which is what matters for expanding a platform), unlikely due to Microsoft’s basically abandoning of the consumer WMR space for the near-term.

      • Sandeman21

        Almost everyone involved in VR abandons consumer. Makes sense. Else they would have to lock their doors and go home. With few exceptions, only with subsidies and non stop investment can consumer VR survive.

  • Smokey_the_Bear

    If they are getting ready to launched 2nd gen headsets, then I really hope Microsoft has improved the tracking…which was crap.

    • Shawn MacDonell

      Tracking wasn’t “crap”, it was and is serviceable; is it the best in the industry? No, but it was the first fully-fledged inside-out tracking system that proved it’s achievable.

      Two cameras may had been the limit during the testing phase that WMR was going through for its 1st generation of products; and the controllers, well… they definitely had little thought put into them, unfortunately, lol.

      • Evol Love

        Definitely crap, I sent that trash back quick..

        • Sandeman21

          Definitely not crap. Totally disagree. What was crap was the implementation of WMR controllers by developers who didn’t originally target that platform. Especially on Steam some devs didn’t care at all and didn’t even try to do it right.

          • Evol Love

            I’ve owned, OG Vive, Vive Pro, Oculus Rift, Pimax 5k+, Oculus Quest, and Valve Index. I bought a Samsung Odyssey+ on black Friday last year to try it out and found it to be the absolute worst tracking, yes the controller design is shit but even more so was the horrendous tracking. This is well known that WMR is the lowest quality HMD when it comes to controllers/tracking. Unless you only play sims WMR is total crap. Just try any other HMD and you can’t deny it..

      • Rogue Transfer

        *First fully-fledged ^markerless^ inside-out tracking – the Vive was the first inside-out tracking, but marker-based instead; with Lighthouses as external marker emitters. The tracking sensors are inside the Vive headset & controllers, under all those dimples.

        Microsoft’s key achievement was doing tracking first without specific markers.

        • Shawn MacDonell

          Ah, yes, that’s what I meant; I keep forgetting to mention marker-less even though I have it in my hardware listing (for all the VR hardware I currently own), lol.

      • Agree, The tracking was 98% fine for everything. There were tracking issues when the first headsets came out but that was much resolved with software updates. Having a single cable to plugin and no external trackers at a lower price point than all other main headsets was huge at the time. (*I’ve since sold my Dell headset in favour in new shinier tech)

        • Immersive_Computing

          I found my favourite bow game “In Death” unplayable on my Lenovo WMR, compared to my 3-camera Rift setup.

          For Beat Saber and Tiltbrush, not a problem

          • Sandeman21

            It has to do with the developers. Many users fail to see a difference between problematic device and problematic 3rd party software, it’s understandable, and often crappy developers pretend the hardware is the problem and not their incompetence and lack of knowledge.

            Beat Saber and Tilt Brush devs care. Others don’t. Simple as that.

          • Fabian

            In Death is my favorite game too with about 100 hours of playtime so far, works perfect with my Odyssey+

      • Electrify85

        My VR journey started with Cardboard, to the Gear VR (which regularly overheated and throttled), to Windows Mixed Reality. While the tracking is not perfect (throwing things in Rec Room is the most frustrating), everything else is fantastic. My default PC space is limited, and I am running out of USB ports, so its setup is perfect. As with all technology I will eventually upgrade, but right now for me it is VR nirvana.

        With the Rift S, it really needs to get its price right. I got my Odyssey+ on sale for $400 CAD, with the Oculus options currently costing $550 CAD. $400 is a competitive price, and personally the most I see myself spending on this tech. If WMR OEMs can get devices priced at this point, I think they can hold their own in the market.

    • Kyokushin

      Tracking is pretty good in current generation. I have issues with my Odyssey+

  • Matilde Constance

    Already they have filled the market with poor quality products

    • Zokrym

      They aren’t though. WMR sets are really good, they just had crap marketing.

      • kakek

        And crap software support.

        • asd

          nope just crappy fanboys like you

          • kakek

            Fanboy of what ? I only have a wmr headset, and was satisfied with it for a while. And I would really like to be wrong.

            But let’s look at the facts : wmr support has been slow, to say the least, for the past 6 months.
            Reprojection for instance : they made a decent first pass at it … And haven’t updated the feature since. Oculus and valve both improved and refined their solutions. Even pimax did. Microsoft has done nothing, despite users having pointed many shortcoming and performance issues with it for months. In fact, in WMR it’s still a beta feature you have to activate by editing a file.
            Just look a at the last updates. They have become infrequent and really minor, the bare minimum.
            Where are basic features, like the possibility to togle haptic feedback on/off, set IPD while wearing the headset to see the impact, or togle reprojection on/off without having to restart your software ?

            They where supposed to come really soon, back when devs where active and answerred feedback posts. 6 month ago.

            Then they stopped answering, updates became infrequent and only limited to the bare minimum. Features that were not finished never came.

            It’s pretty obvious when you’ve been following the evolution of wmr that Ms must have greatly reduced the size of the dev team half a year ago. Heck, they outright said they were disappointed by wmr sales around the same time.

            Discontinuation has been hanging on the air for a while if you paid attention.

      • Schorsch

        Ah..spotted the guy who never had a Rift (or a Vive, or an Index). For most VR enthusiasts, the horrible controllers and tracking of WMR alone had been absolute deal breakers.

    • MOT

      They are decent hmd and higher resolution than the rift s.

      • LogicWut

        Also: refresh rate, and cheaper.

    • The Bard

      If WMR is poor quality, how do you rate Oculus and Vive shit with LCD, 200% price and miserable base stations. WMR was the best, so don’t provoke people.

      • Schorsch

        The fact you say “WMR was the best” shows me you know little, if anything about VR, whatsoever. For starters, WMR had abysmal controllers and tracking. Go get a Rift CV1 and play around with Touch, and then come back and seriously claim “WMR is better”. So laughable, it hurts.

    • Sandeman21

      Actually, the fact that everyone copied WMR tells otherwise. :P

  • Probably they are launching a second-gen… HP and Acer already have 2K per eye WMR headsets

    • johann jensson

      Have? LOL. Will have, someday. HP still can’t deliver after 3 months of issues, and Acer hasn’t even announced a release quarter. :-/

      • aasd

        if skarredghost said it about AR or Vr, you can basically take it to the bank. He knows more then most of us combined.

      • Sandeman21

        Have. And Reverb has no issues, just based on the previous model that didn’t sell much, HP didn’t expect it would be on such huge demand!

        With Reverb they did pretty much everything right.

        • Jarilo

          “And Reverb has no issues”

          lol

          • Sandeman21

            do you actually know something or are you just learning how to lol?

          • Jarilo

            Yes, I know something. Lots of people know something about the Reverb.

        • MrWraith68

          Just returned mine yesterday…. it too had no issues, until it did.

    • John G

      Hey Tony!

      That’s my feeling as well. WMR headsets on steam have actually gone up a tad.

      == John ==

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  • kakek

    Considering that software support has been minimal for while, I’d rather bet on a discontinuation of the line.
    Wouldn’t be surprised if they announced there won’t be any more, HP reverb is the last, and will be supported for 5 years or so.

  • oompah

    Those were great headsets at the price
    must continue

  • dk

    well hp acer and samsung have things coming but much more expensive

  • MS discontinuing WMR means VR is walking dead.

    • dk

      they r not discontinuing anything acer hp and samsung has new headsets coming…. but not as cheap as the 1st gen

      • kakek

        They have been providing the bare minimum software support for the past 6 months, keeping it barely functional.
        They ARE discontinuing WMR. HP and ACER just got screwed.

        • asd

          no theyre not…

        • dk

          wmr is the spatial way to interact with windows for all types of headsets …it’s part of the evolution of windows ….it’s the equivalent of the first graphics interface os

    • kuhpunkt

      Why? WMR never had the biggest market share.

      • For VR to make it, it needs an ecosystem. Mass market. Users. Customers. It needs to be usable as a core part of the computing experience, not just some toy for gaming that makes you puke after 20 minutes. It needs to be used for education, real-estate, virtual tourism, 3D modelling, architecture, etc – where, like educators and realtor’s putting up a website where they can count on most people having a computer to read it, they can then count on most people having an HMD to view their VR content. If MS is throwing in the towel, that means it’s no longer on the trajectory upwards to become that, but rather on the way down, having already peaked before it ever gets there. And without MS’s support to promote and push it up to that, I don’t think it’ll never make it. Gaming isn’t enough.

        • I work in VR industrial training, and couldn’t disagree more. We’re seeing business explode, more and more HUGE companies are signing contracts for VR training, with us and our competitors. At the same time, legislature is being changed on a state level in some places that allow VR training to be allowed as a certain percentage of overall training in some industrial and construction situations. It ain’t all about gaming.

          • Well, and just like the death of VR from the 80’s didn’t kill off it’s use in things like aircraft simulations and such, it was still basically death. I have no doubt niche industrial applications such as yours (and mine) will live on, but that’s beside the point. This time it was supposed to be different, it was supposed to be mass market, and I’m worried for *that* goal.

          • sfmike

            There is no real mass market yet and these players are pulling out. We will see if Facebook will continue to lose money of VR or if they will fold to. The real problem is young people don’t have the money due to our top heavy economy. When half your income goes to rent and insurance you can’t buy the latest gear.

          • sebrk

            The massive success of Oculus Quest says otherwise. Biggest issue is making it available to people and mobile VR is doing just that.

        • kuhpunkt

          MS was never a driving force for VR.

        • Grey Lock

          I disagree that Microsoft no longer promoting VR means it’s dead..

          Microsoft discontinuing the Zune didn’t kill mp3 players.
          Microsoft discontinuing it’s Game for Windows store didn’t kill Steam or digital game sales.
          Microsoft discontinuing it’s never released Tablet didn’t hurt iPad sales.
          Microsoft discontinuing it’s Windows Phone didn’t hurt smart phone sales.
          Microsoft discontinuing it’s smart watch didn’t kill that market, and the new FitBit watch is the best yet.
          Microsoft killing it’s XBOX VR headset before reaching production didn’t hurt PSVR sales.

          The fact is, WMR gained 10% of the market because those headsets were on sale for 50% off for over a year.
          I bought two, and they are good,but already having a Rift I would never have bought either WMR headset if they weren’t $200 each.

          That said, the future of VR is in the hands of those companies who are “all in,” like Oculus, HTC, and Valve.

          And the game studios who make the AAA titles.

          Honestly, there’s so many AAA VR only games coming this fall that I find it hard to believe anyone doesn’t think VR is doing well.

    • gothicvillas

      Poor man’s VR never stood a chance.

  • grindathotte .

    It could be a repeat of Windows Mobile; growth too slow so dump the customer base. More positively, it could mean an upgrade to the reference design, like more tracking cameras.

    • kakek

      Considering that they have been maintaining the software to a barely functionnal state for the past 6 month, my money is on dump customer base.

      • Immersive_Computing

        Daydream’s just gone through what is happening with WMR

        • sfmike

          I’m sure the installed base is miniscule and that’s why they are selling these off.

      • Sandeman21

        They are actually updating their software quite frequently both on Steam and the MRTK SDK on github. I am not sure where you get your information from.

  • Ted Joseph

    And I paid full price when I purchased 2 of them at launch… I suck…

    • Sandeman21

      Never buy at launch. Never. It’s a childish thing. Always wait a few months. It’s ok if you are not the first in your group to own something. Only children think otherwise.

  • Ted Joseph

    I have PSVR, Rift S, MR, and the Quest. I am having a blast with PSVR, S, and Quest at the moment. Haven’t touched Microsoft MR in over a year… I think Microsoft made a big mistake not developing, and inside out VR for the Xbox One and X with a good list of AAA titles. This would have been the spark (Xbox VR success, then onto PC) that would have made MR for Xbox, and Windows a success in my opinion. Not sure if this is due to lack of resources, money, or just poor decision making, but Sony has proved that VR can be financially lucrative. Blood and Truth has changed my opinion on console VR. Microsoft is falling further behind…

    • Jonathan Winters III

      Because MS is a soulless corporation with it’s vision limited by greed.

      • Sandeman21

        Sounds like you had a tormented childhood.

        Microsoft has offered a great platform for VR and done it a great service by introducing their Reference design for WMR that everyone has now copied. It is the greed of others that holds VR back. And it is Microsoft that showed makers the way forward. For free! ;)

    • Sandeman21

      While MS was the first that announced VR for their console, it was too early to actually make that move. And rightly at that time they held back. But at the same time they saw forward, far ahead from temporary gains with such a move, and offered WMR to everyone, which is something that helped VR improve itself as a whole. Look at every maker having what is actually a WMR philosophy device out there. Even when they pretend they invented it themselves.

  • David Cole

    Just update controllers and they would sell better. That is the only issue Mix Reality Headset have. Make them closer to Oculus Touch.

  • Rudl Za Vedno

    I believe Samsung will release 200 fov curved oled panels hmd in 2019. All recent patents show in that direction. But it won’t be cheap. Definitely north of $500 but still inside retail market pricing.

    • ShaneMcGrath

      That sounds good,Anything over 120 FOV and I am already interested.

  • Michael Slesinski

    i just picked up a replacement headset (JUST the HMD) for 19$ on ebay.. apparently the wire alone is 140$ on the HP site. all i REALLY wanted was to replace the foam, but for that price i may as well do the headset.

  • sfmike

    You guys are so optimistic as I think Microsoft is pulling out of VR as it didn’t get them the billion dollars of sales tech investment gurus sold them on. That’s the way corporations work. Try to buy a new 3D TV. Windows VR was even less successful so I expect it to fade away and all traces will be removed from marketing as time goes on. We are lucky we have what we do at this point thanks mainly to FB.

    • Dave

      What do you mean by optimistic, if you are talking about VR, then I’m absolutely loving it and there isn’t much you say to can change my mind about that. If you are talking about Microsoft WMR then yes I tried one in Vegas and it was shit. They can all dissapear if it was up to me. I own an Oculus Rift CV1 by the way.

      • sfmike

        I wasn’t talking about all VR, whose long term growth I think is still questionable, but Microsoft’s investment into it and AR. If it doesn’t hit desired profit and installation numbers it will disappear from their product lineup and actual adoption rates have been disappointing to the entire industry.

    • Andrew Jakobs

      Let’s not forget, the WMR headsets were only available in limited stores in the rest of the world (hell in most countries they didn’t even sell the headsets). In the netherlands I think only the Dell or HP WMR headsets were officially sold, the rest was through import.. AND we didn’t have any of the discounts we saw here presented for all the WMR headsets like in the US, the price of a WMR headset has always been the retail suggested price from the start.. So only selling the headsets in a very limited amount of countries doesn’t help either..

  • Ugur Ister

    Seems to be the deciding year for WMR, either they announce new headsets and ideally also 4+ headset cams + improved controllers setup or other such “next gen” improvements coming up soon, or if they don’t, it looks bad for WMR overall, sounds like a 50:50 chance of whether they take it forward or cancel it all together, so some kind of announcement has to come.

    What i would find interesting and appealing would be if MS and partners announce the next set of WMR headsets get 4+ cams and controller interoperability with Oculus Touch (Rift S/Quest version) and the next gen of WMR headsets ships with either Rift S/Quest touch controllers or basically ones with same configuration made by the MS partner manufacturers.
    So basically i’m suggestion a good move by them could be pushing for more interoperability with Oculus controller hardware and software.
    (The same would be cool regarding less finicky to set up cross compatibility with Valve Index controllers, too, but less easily feasible since different tracking method, they could at least also work closer with Valve to make that less cumbersome to set up, too though)

    • Sandeman21

      WMR keeps being the better choice overall but also the one which is marketed most poorly. People keep being focused on Vive/Steam and Oculus who spend tons on marketing, while in terms of tech, simply chase WMR and trying to improve on it. Sadly, since there is absolutely no marketing or mainstream PR, few are actually aware of this.

      • Ugur Ister

        I had a Samsung Odyssey and the headset itself is great, at the time i bought it the headset part was the best VR headset.
        The tracking is not as good as Oculus’ and Valve/HTC’s though and the controllers are considerably worse.
        So it would need updates on those ends for sure.
        The main bummer side for me was the windows store, as in how poorly that is handled. Both as dev and as user.
        One can use a lot of things on the Steam store so that wasn’t a no go reason, but it did make me wonder why MS doesn’t put more effort into the store and also marketing the devices, it is like they stopped after doing half of the work (the headset part).
        Curious to see whether they improve such things or rather work together with others to form a unified platform.
        The aspect i most liked about it (besides the Odyssey headset) was that it came so preinstalled with Windows that the setup was close to instant go.

        • Sandeman21

          Indeed, 1st gen devices are not without issues. Thing is, same as with Windows Phone, the OEMs expect Microsoft to promote them. Expect Microsoft to spend millions advertising their headsets.

          These are not Microsoft devices. Microsoft spent money on the R&D and provided them with a product and platform specification. Only two of the OEMs took the devices a bit further. Samsung and HP.

          Most of them didn’t even bother improving on the controllers because that meant spending money on R&D. They used the baseline reference design from Microsoft. That for sure was not the intent.

          • Ugur Ister

            I don’t think OEMs should change the controllers on their own considerably as the input devices are one of the core aspects of the VR interaction and experience, so i think it would be quite negative if every OEM (or just a few) would each make quite different controllers.
            What is needed is that MS (maybe in partnership with one or some OEMS) creates a reference design for gen 2 WMR controllers which are closer to Rift touch/Valve index controller level quality, mapping and functionality and/or them teaming up with oculus/Valve to have controllers which are basically the same as those besides different tracking used by the WMR headsets.
            And yes, the next set of WMR headsets should for sure use 4+ cameras for the tracking.

            Overall i’m not sure if MS is still into pushing an own platform, if so, there would have to be news about gen 2 specifications at least soon, because looking at how fast the VR landscape progresses, if one player doesn’t progress for a year or longer, it is quickly seen as having given up as by then so far behind already.

          • Sandeman21

            The OEM should change the controller. Not the control scheme. You are confusing the two. The OEM can make it more ergonomic, sturdier etc, but retain the same buttons and layout.

      • Schorsch

        ROFLMAO, Oculus/fb which is baked by literally billions of dollars, currently hiring 400 people for VR/AR alone…is “chasing WMR”. Sorry, so laughable it hurts my belly just reading this nonsense. It is true that Rift S turned out like WMR….but for entirely different reasons than you think. (For example, the original CV2 had been scrapped, so Oculus had to come up with a quick solution to not piss off Rift users. So they partnered with Lenovo). But if you think they were/are “chasing” WMR “in terms of tech”, I can only laugh.

        • Sandeman21

          You do realize that Microsoft is a much larger company ( in fact a Trillion dollar company) than Facebook, and that Facebook, has started winding down their VR budget and offering right? Or are you just too clueless to notice these things?

  • The Bard

    WMR is the best VR experience you can have. I own Samsung Odyssey+ with OLED and 1440×1600 resolution, built-in AKG headphones. The famous tracking is very good if you play in a well lit-room. I can play Oculus store games, thanks to revive and Steam VR content. I am surprised Microsoft is doing such shit to VR, when 11% of devices in Steam became WMR googles. Microsoft abandoned WMR instantly. They are dumb fools and don’t care about half a million or even 1 million customers who bought WMR. I will remember how they treated me and other hundreds of thousands of VR people. F… you Microsoft losers! I hope Samsung releases their own googles compatible with Steam VR and shows middle finger to Microsoft.

    • Andrew King

      You can use the WMR HMDs in a pitch black room, and they still work. They are not ambient light dependent.

  • Grey Lock

    I hope this means they are prepping to release a gen 2 series, but at this point I’m not sure they are needed as Vive, Oculus, and others are releasing their own version of Inside Out tracking.

    And honestly, it doesn’t seem like Lenovo, HP, and the others need MS anymore.

  • Ace of Spades

    RIP, just like Kinect, gone with the wind

  • ShaneMcGrath

    Sounds more like making way for next gen WMR headsets.
    Give me manual IPD adjustment, FOV over 120, Inbuilt tracking with 6 cameras and high resolution and I’ll pay the money.

  • Microsoft have never really had any heart in VR and in the console space let Sony run away with it. Also the WMR software feels like Early Access. Like Apple, they do invest in AR though so maybe their sights are elsewhere.

    I bought an OD+ to see what WMR was like and just had problems with it compared to my Rift which is much more intuitive, comfy and better supported.

  • Sandeman21

    These are old, 1st gen headsets and it makes sense they are unavailable as the next generation of WMR headsets is starting to emerge. Buying a Samsung Odyssey + still makes sense, but any older than that does not. HP came out with Reverb, Samsung is preparing their new one, and others too. So yeah. There’s that.

  • Eric Mcoo

    It’s an ex parrot. It has ceased to be.

    • johann jensson

      I had watched it in German only, but now immediately recognized it, haha! Oldie, but goldie. :)

  • oompah

    at 200$ it was the best
    I love it
    & I will wait for next till
    standalone quest like headsets fall down
    to 200$

  • Dan Lokemoen

    I thought it was clear that these were being discontinued after the blow-out pricing last christmas. I’m not sure how Lenovo thought they could sell headsets without any marketing at all. I believe that many WMR headset-producing companies will drop out of VR, but several will continue on. Lenovo is probably out — it looks like Samsung is making new products. I doubt that Lenovo has manufactured a headset since November.

  • lnpilot

    Not surprising. The current generation of VR headsets are garbage. The optics are atrocious, the display resolutions are way too low and the headsets are big and bulky.
    It will take a few more iterations before they will be acceptable to consumers.

  • Or they stopped giving a crap about VR people.
    Not like their game decision is even pretending to show interest.

  • Fourfoldroot

    Microsoft have been piss poor at supporting VR. Most likely they just let other people invest then buy them out to avoid risk. Then they’ll slap a load of patents on everything.

  • care package

    I want to be an official ‘spokesperson’. I’ve been practicing. “It either is or it isn’t, that I can tell you for sure”

  • norml

    Again Microsoft puts out a product and fails to follow through….look at the Microsoft phone for a similar scenario. Shame on Microsoft again!

  • 1…2…3…. Nothing!

    or just don’t get them thru Windows store … most retailer/etailer have them in stock (and most of the time cheaper and no, Amazon is not the right reference) got a Medion Erazer X1000 MR with controller (basically the Lenovo Explorer) for 199$ from a local retailer

    issues? what issues? inside out tracking work quite nice (well Oculus Rift S use it now … nice coincidence) most VR app works perfectly, SteamVR no issues, ok not tracking behind the headset is … naahhh not a real issue … (who the hell do not look at what they aim … Matrix and John Woo’s film are not practical examples )

  • guideadda

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  • the mixed reality page is now just gone – you can remove the link in the article,….
    The big players are conditioning the market for something else…
    Not that thats illegal ….but it is….. but whatever