Microsoft to Start Shipping Windows Mixed Reality Development Kits in March

At Game Developers Conference, Microsoft has announced that the company will start shipping development kits for Windows Mixed Reality (earlier called Windows Holographic) this month itself. Interestingly, the Redmond-based company will be bundling its developer edition headsets (created in collaboration with Acer) along with the development kit. Further, the company has announced that mixed reality experiences will be making their way to other platforms including Xbox One and Project Scorpio in 2018.

The Windows Mixed Reality development kits, which will start shipping later this month, will come with the headset developed by Acer, access to Windows 10 Insider Preview builds and the software development kit (SDK) to enable developers to build mixed reality applications.

The company already announced last year that it partnered with leading device makers including Acer, ASUS, Dell, HP, Lenovo, and 3Glasses on a wide range of headsets that pair with Windows Mixed Reality-ready PCs. "These are the first mixed reality headsets to deliver built-in inside-out tracking, meaning there is no need to purchase or install external trackers or sensors in the wall. Moreover, you don't need to bother with a complicated setup, just plug and play," Microsoft said in its official blog post.

The Acer headset included in the development kit sports two high-resolution liquid crystal displays with 1440x1440 pixels resolution. The headset comes with native display refresh rate up to 90Hz and has built-in audio out and microphone support through 3.5mm jack. It comes with single cable with HDMI 2.0 (display) and USB 3.0 (data) for connectivity.

Microsoft has already handed out "golden ticket" to developers who attended company's session at GDC and these ticket holders will get access to the Acer headset in the upcoming months, the company said. Interested developers can find out more about the company's mixed reality platform on company's website.

The move to rename company's 'Windows Holographic' to 'Windows Mixed Reality' might have been taken as the company is taking the experience to more platforms rather than keeping it limited to company's HoloLens headset.