Meta-Microsoft Alliance to Bring Windows Apps & Games to Quest Devices
Big news from the gaming world is that Microsoft and Meta are reportedly collaborating to provide new content, including Windows apps and Teams integrations, to Meta’s Metaverse hardware projects.
Apparently, Xbox Cloud Gaming, Microsoft’s game streaming service, will eventually be available on Quest devices, according to Nadella.
According to sources close to the matter, Microsoft 365 will be integrated with Quest on the Windows side, according to Nadella, allowing users to engage with material from productivity tools like Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook.
Importantly, they are reportedly Progressive Web Programs rather than full-fledged apps created just for VR.
In order to provide people with additional opportunities for interpersonal interaction, the firms are bringing the immersive Microsoft Teams meeting experience to Meta Quest.
The experience will eventually include personalized avatars. Individuals will be able to join a Teams meeting straight from Horizon Workrooms, Meta’s virtual reality workspace.
On the Quest, Xbox Cloud Gaming will broadcast games on a 2D VR screen and support the use of current Xbox controllers. However, Nadella suggested that more functionality might be added in the future.
As Microsoft scales back its internal VR and AR hardware efforts, including HoloLens, the latter teams up with Meta. Microsoft’s software underpinning for Windows 10’s support of VR headsets is the Windows Mixed Reality platform.
At the beginning of the year, Microsoft had reportedly abandoned plans for the third version of the HoloLens in favor of working with Samsung on a brand-new “mixed-reality” gadget.
In response to the HoloLens claims, Microsoft disputed them. Amidst these allegations of impropriety, including unwanted sexual behavior, one of the executives overseeing the development of the HoloLens, Alex Kipman, quit, throwing the division into disarray.
However, Microsoft has demonstrated a strong interest in funding software development for the Metaverse, regardless of its shape.
The business unveiled Mesh for Teams at its Ignite conference last year, combining Teams and its integrated productivity tools with the company’s Mesh technology to power shared experiences in VR, AR, and other technologies.
