HoloLens is Microsoft's most ambitious project in a long time, and the company is making moves to make sure it is a success. According to the head of Xbox, Phil Spencer, first-party studios are already working on video games for the augmented reality headset.
At the recently held Game Developers Conference 2015, Spencer stated: "Gaming and entertainment [are] going to be critical," for the mass adoption of HoloLens. He also said the games Xbox first-party studios are working on right now are more advanced compared to what Microsoft showed in January.
Over time, Microsoft plans to open the API to third-party developers who would love to bring the HoloLens to their latest video games.
"While there are going to be many uses and industries that take advantage of Microsoft HoloLens and everything that holographic computing has to offer, gaming is a huge opportunity," says Microsoft. "For all the game developers out there, we encourage you to join the Windows Insider Program to get the holographic APIs when available, and stay tuned for Build 2015, where we will share more details."
Since HoloLens will make an appearance at the Microsoft Build Developer Conference later this year, the press and those watching via their PC or mobile devices should be in for a treat. However, the device might not end up releasing this year, so hopefully by the end of 2016, consumers will get the chance to see what HoloLens can do first hand.
What should we expect gaming wise?
Augmented reality places objects in the real world, so we should expect certain elements from within a game to show up in the real world. For example, the information on Master Chief's visor could be brought to life in the real world. Furthermore, HoloLens could put anything that might require interaction from the player to great use.
HoloLens is more than just a gaming device, but for it to be successful in the marketplace, Microsoft has no choice but to make gaming a central experience. Things like Sony's VR platform, Project Morpheus, is using gaming as a way to elevate itself, so clearly Microsoft needs an answer for this.
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