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Forget the Xbox One, this is how Microsoft plans to reinvent gaming hardware next year

Published Dec 18th, 2014 7:45PM EST
Xbox One and VR: Microsoft

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The Xbox One is definitely one of the most important products in Microsoft’s lineup, but the company might also be interested in offering gamers a different kind of gameplay experience in the near future.

FROM EARLIER: Samsung’s massive list of possible Gear VR side effects should terrify any sane gamer

Digitimes reports that it has heard from sources familiar with Microsoft’s supply chain that the company is working on a head-worn virtual reality gaming device that could be unveiled next year at the E3 video game conference in June.

Development of the unnamed project is apparently handled by the same hardware team that’s behind the company’s Surface tablets, although more details about it are not available at this time.

Even if it’s going to be unveiled at E3 in 2015, it’s not clear when such a device will be released. It’s also not known how this potential virtual reality headset will interact with Microsoft’s existing consoles, and specifically the Xbox One.

On the other hand, Microsoft isn’t the only company interested in pursuing such virtual reality-related plans. Facebook has purchased Oculus earlier this year, and will release an Oculus Rift product in the future, and companies including Sony and Samsung also have their own VR projects in development.

Chris Smith Senior Writer

Chris Smith has been covering consumer electronics ever since the iPhone revolutionized the industry in 2008. When he’s not writing about the most recent tech news for BGR, he brings his entertainment expertise to Marvel’s Cinematic Universe and other blockbuster franchises.

Outside of work, you’ll catch him streaming almost every new movie and TV show release as soon as it's available.