For a long time, the ambitions of Microsoft’s HoloLens and mixed reality division have been murky. Last year, Microsoft executive Alex Kipman, who led the initiative, resigned after allegations of inappropriate behavior in the workplace. Microsoft has also been facing challenges with a U.S. Army contract, and its Mixed Reality Toolkit (MRTK) team has been severely impacted by a recent round of layoffs. Now, perhaps to ease concerns in this area, Microsoft has released a statement reaffirming its business commitment to HoloLens 2 and mixed reality (MR).
Robin Seiler, corporate vice president and chief operating officer of Microsoft’s Windows + Devices organization, made the statement in a brief blog post to the technical community.
Robin Seiler started by saying that Microsoft is fully committed to developing HoloLens 2, keeping regular software updates and releasing helpful documentation for customers. She also stressed that HoloLens is one of the key components of the vision behind the “industrial metaverse.
While the executive did not explicitly confirm whether the entire MRTK team had been let go, she did hint at it, saying that the project would continue to exist through open-source contributions. Microsoft will continue to be “committed” to ensuring compatibility between MRTK and HoloLens 2.
Robin Seiler also confirmed that AltspaceVR, which Microsoft acquired in 2017, is being shut down and the focus is shifting to Microsoft Mesh, reaffirming Microsoft’s strategy to bring VR into enterprise environments, which Microsoft is already previewing in a number of customers.
Finally, the Microsoft executive mentioned the company’s ongoing relationship with the U.S. Army, following multiple reports that the partnership was not going well.
Given the recent changes, Microsoft stressed through a statement that everything in HoloLens and mixed reality continues to progress well. But only time will tell how much determination Microsoft actually puts into bringing these technologies into the mainstream.
