Microsoft has officially confirmed that it will be launching a new Xbox One-based application that will allow all current and future Oculus Rift owners to stream and play their entire Xbox One game library to the supported VR headset. Doesn’t it sound awesome!?
For those of you who’re not aware, the Oculus Rift is virtual reality headset developed and manufactured by Oculus VR, released on March 28, 2016. Funded through a kickstarter campaign back in 2012, the company is now owned by Facebook.
According to a post on Xbox.com, the ‘Xbox One Streaming to Oculus Rift‘ application will connect the two devices with the use of a home network. The Xbox One’s native video output will then be streamed to the Rift headset and “projected onto a massive screen in your choice of one of three immersive environments: Citadel, Retreat, and Dome.”
The application will be made available and that too for free in the Oculus virtual Store along with the Xbox One app store, starting from December 12.
A representative from Microsoft stated:
fan favorites like Gears of War 4, Forza Horizon 3, and Halo 5: Guardians are playable now, with biggest sports games, indie darlings, Backward Compatible Xbox 360 games, and more titles coming in 2017.
Additionally, it’s also worth mentioning that streaming any Xbox One title to play on the Rift won’t really make the game a completely immersive VR experience. It will simply display the game on a virtual screen right in front of your eyes that you view using the VR headset. Add headphones to that and you have an extremely immersive gaming experience ahead of you.
This brand new upcoming app will be part of Microsoft’s ongoing partnership with Oculus. As previously detailed in several ads, the Rift headset comes bundled along with an Xbox One controller and the VR headset also works natively with Windows 10.
