---
title: What’s up with Microsoft and the metaverse?
description: Microsoft dreamed up its AR headset over a decade ago. What’s happened since?
---

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# [What’s up with Microsoft and the metaverse?](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/news/10272022-microsoft-metaverse)

 Written by [Juliet Bennett Rylah](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/news/author/juliet-bennett-rylah) | Oct 27, 2022 6:03:05 AM

Given the name change and Zuck’s numerous [uncanny valley demos](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAL2JZxpoGY), everyone knows Meta is all about the metaverse.

But what about Microsoft?

Well, recently, former HoloLens director Tim Osborne lamented Microsoft’s lost opportunity to “own” the market, [per](https://www.wsj.com/articles/microsoft-headsets-augmented-reality-hololens-metaverse-11666793622?mod=hp_lead_pos5) *The Wall Street Journal*.

#### **What happened?**

Microsoft’s HoloLens is an AR device dreamed up by its video games team while thinking about the future of gaming systems.

That initial idea was “[Screen Zero](https://mixed-news.com/en/screen-zero-hololens-started-as-an-xbox-headset/),” an Xbox headset to replace other screens.

- Microsoft built a prototype in 2010 that plugged into a computer, then debuted the wireless HoloLens [in 2015](https://www.bizjournals.com/bizjournals/news/2015/01/22/alex-kipman-microsoft-hololens-kinect.html).
- At that year’s E3 gaming conference, Microsoft [demoed](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19W-KD2XzFE) how it could be used to play “Minecraft.”

Which was cool… except the headset was harder to build than expected and, when made available to consumers, cost** $3k**.

That might be why Microsoft sold ~300k of them, compared to Meta’s 17m Quest 2 VR headsets, which retail for [~$400](https://www.meta.com/quest/products/quest-2).

#### **Since then…**

… Microsoft has transitioned to selling the HoloLens to enterprises, including NASA and Mercedes-Benz.

Its largest client is the US Army, which awarded Microsoft a $480m contract to develop AR training for soldiers — a rollout that has not been without tech issues.

Meanwhile:

- Plans for a new HoloLens have been shelved due to budget cuts.
- Inventor Alex Kipman [departed](https://www.cnbc.com/2022/06/08/microsoft-hololens-creator-alex-kipman-leaving-the-company.html) amid allegations of inappropriate behavior.

Still, Frank Shaw, Microsoft’s VP of communications, says it’s still “committed” to the metaverse — and it isn’t like it’s been a digital stroll in the virtual park for anyone else.

Only [58%](https://thehustle.co/%f0%9f%8e%ae-metas-metaverse-problem-explained/) of Meta employees even get the metaverse themselves.

And AR headset competitor Magic Leap has [returned](https://thestack.technology/magic-leap-2-release/#:~:text=Magic%20Leap%20has%20returned%20with,more%20powerful%20AR%20headset%20significantly.) with an enterprise-focused device that’s even less affordable… at ~$5k.

[View full post](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/news/10272022-microsoft-metaverse)

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