When Microsoft sees a hot technology, it wastes no time making strides on it. Years ago, it catapulted motion gaming with the introduction of its Kinect device; and now, the HoloLens, which was introduced earlier this year, {link no longer active} is getting its full attention.
VentureBeat has reported that the publisher has already begun development on several games for the device and John Needham, formerly with Fable developer Lionhead Studios, has been brought in to help development for games that utilize both Xbox and HoLolens technology. With it, Microsoft intends to move forward into the virtual gaming world, before the likes of Oculus Rift and Sony’s Morpheus tech has a chance to hit the market.
Of course, HoloLens works differently than the usual VR gear, but it does provide the capability of putting gamers into virtual worlds with a number of franchises, such as Minecraft and Fable, with great technological tweaks. It could easily play a part in the projected $150 billion the market is projected to make by 2020 {link no longer active}.
Working alongside Needham is Kudo Tsunoda, who works as the head of Microsoft Studios’ portfolio of games, covering most of the company’s popular franchises, save for Halo, Gears of War and Forza. If that name sounds familiar, it’s because Kudo was one of the masterminds behind the Kinect’s initial success.
“Kudo Tsunoda will lead the vision and experience development of our other Microsoft Studios portfolio in the United States, Europe, and across our global publishing team,” said the company in a statement. “John Needham relocated to [Microsoft headquarters in] Redmond in a new role overseeing internal development for several games and experiences for both Xbox and Microsoft HoloLens reporting to Kudo. All [other] responsibility for Xbox [in Europe, Middle-East, and Asia] will be overseen directly by [Xbox boss] Phil Spencer.”
In the meantime, interested parties can check out the video below to see just what the company has in mind.
