It would appear that the Xbox might have some kind of VR plans in the works, as IGN Italy have found reference to VR headsets when reviewing the new Xbox Wireless Headset peripheral.
Xbox And VR?
According to IGN Italy anyway. In their report, they found that plugging a USB wire into the headset led to system messages that make reference to VR, with messages such as “the VR headset needs to be updated”. These references continue with the next message, stating that “an update for the VR headset is available” and the button prompt to “Update VR headset”.
The headset has gone on sale today, and as of the time of writing, only IGN Italy has reported references to VR emerging on their Xbox. It’s possible that this could be a mistake, or perhaps Xbox once toyed around with the idea of VR support, and reference to it was left over in certain software updates. Then again, maybe they are laying the ground for future VR support. Xbox has yet to confirm either way.
Didn’t Phil Spencer Say VR Wasn’t A Focus?
Yes, back in 2020, Phil Spencer conducted an interview with Stevivor, in which he said that VR wasn’t a priority for Xbox: “I have some issues with VR — it’s isolating and I think of games as a communal, kind of together experience. We’re responding to what our customers are asking for and… nobody’s asking for VR. The vast majority of our customers know if they want a VR experience, there’s places to go get those. We see the volumes of those on PC and other places.”
However, later interviews with Phil Spencer have shown him to be more receptive to the idea of VR. In his talk with Gamertag Radio, he said: “I don’t hope [VR] goes away: I hope it gets bigger. I hope it’s something that’s so important that it would be a no-brainer for us to go support it.”
While it might be a bit far-fetched for Microsoft to create their own VR headset (but we also thought the idea of Xbox buying Bethesda was far-fetched), perhaps Microsoft have partnered with other VR companies, like Valve, Oculus or HTC, to allow third-party headset support. We won’t know for sure until Xbox address the issue.
READ MORE: UPDATE: Outriders Sure Is Coming To Xbox Game Pass
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