Phil Spencer Hopes VR Becomes a "No-Brainer" For Xbox
"We have to focus our efforts on the things that we're doing right now."
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As the next generation of consoles gets closer, the question of whether virtual reality will make the jump has come back around. Xbox boss Phil Spencer has already said some things about Xbox and VR in the past, but today, he's clarifying some of those statements while possibly leaving the door open for the future.
On an episode of Gamertag Radio, Phil Spencer followed up on statements from last year about virtual reality. Tidbits like "nobody's selling millions and millions" of VR headsets made the rounds, and on the podcast, he clarified his point.
"My main point was, I wanted to be clear with our customers where our focus was," Spencer says. "So that if somebody was waiting for us to bring out a VR headset for Series X, at the launch or something, we're not going to do that."
Spencer says Xbox "focus our efforts on the things we're doing right now." He also notes that VR integration adds another layer of complication, because it's "not just as simple as plugging a headset in." Still, Spencer does end on an optimistic note about VR's future.
"I don't hope it goes away, I hope it gets bigger," Spencer says. "I hope it's something that's so important that it would be a no-brainer for us to go and support it."
Still, as major virtual reality breakthroughs happen, they do seem to be happening mostly on the PC side of things. While Sony has Iron Man VR in its corner, major games like Half-Life: Alyx are coming only to PC headsets for now. Spencer might be right to sit this out on the console side, for the time being.
Spencer discussed the nature of Xbox Game Pass and comparisons to Netflix, backward compatibility, and more with the Gamertag Radio crew. You can find the full episode here, and check out more details on the Xbox Series X in our breakdown here.