First Xbox One VR game coming next year, report says
A new report seems to back up the reports this week that Microsoft is working on a new, more powerful Xbox One.
Following reports this week that Microsoft might be working on a new, more powerful and VR-ready Xbox One to launch in 2017, another story has come online to seemingly back that up.
Ars Technica reports that a "major developer" is working on a virtual-reality game to launch on Xbox One in 2017. This game will be shown at E3, the report said, though it wasn't mentioned if it would be revealed publicly or behind closed doors only.
It also wasn't explicitly stated that this game was in development for the rumored new Xbox One or if it would also be playable on the existing model, which doesn't currently offer VR support. However, the suggestion is that it would be for the new one.
The name of the developer and game is behind held back for now, but Ars Technica says the company is a "well-known European studio" and the game is "set in the universe of an established, long-running franchise." That leaves open lots of possibilities.
This game, whatever it is, will also launch for PC and PlayStation 4, according to the report. The game has the word "VR" in its working title.
According to Kotaku's report this week, the new Xbox One that Microsoft plans to launch in 2017 is "technically capable of supporting the Oculus Rift." This may have been foreshadowed by the partnership between Microsoft and Oculus, which paved the way for Xbox One controllers to be included with retail bundles of the VR device.
In March 2015, Xbox boss Phil Spencer teased that Microsoft's HoloLens augmented-reality device doesn't prevent the company from getting into virtual reality in the future.
Back in 2013, Oculus Rift creator Palmer Luckey said the Xbox One and PS4 are "too limited" in their technical abilities to support his company's headset. Microsoft's reported new Xbox One is apparently four times as powerful as the existing model. Additionally, Sony's rumored PS4 Neo system is also described as being beefier than the current console.
Sony has been more upfront in its plans for VR, as it has confirmed the $400 PlayStation VR headset will launch this October. There will be 50-plus games coming out in the launch window, which runs from launch in October to the end of the year.
A leaked 56-page document from June 2012 suggested Microsoft was planning to offer augmented-reality glasses for the Xbox One. A mockup of what this could look like was included the document; check out the image above.
Would you be interested in a VR-ready Xbox One? Let us know in the comments below. And keep checking back with GameSpot in the days and weeks ahead for more E3 news.