The video game news and culture website Polygon is reporting Microsoft will be showing off its augmented reality headset HoloLens at E3, according to the gaming convention’s organizers the Entertainment Software Association (ESA).
The ESA told Polygon that at this year’s E3, 27 companies (virtually 10% of all the companies presenting at E3) will be showing off virtual and augmented reality gaming, up from the six companies that presented any VR or AR technology and games at last year’s E3.
Since HoloLens’ unveiling in January at Microsoft’s Windows 10 event, the software and device maker has gradually revealed more information about the augmented reality headset which projects holograms into the user’s field of vision, blending the virtual and real worlds. But the news has mostly been focused on the device’s hardware or general statements about productivity based uses for HoloLens. So far the biggest news of gaming on HoloLens has been announcements that Microsoft first party studios are presently working on games for the device and that APIs will be made available to developers through the Windows Insider Program at some point in the future.
Hopefully this news of HoloLens appearing at E3 will detail more about Microsoft’s plans for Augemnted Reality gaming and potentially hints of a timeline for the device if not announcements for third party developers to start building their own AR games.
As Polygon notes, this year’s E3 will be big event for virtual and augmented reality gaming as no longer will it just be AR and VR “centric companies like Oculus Rift, ANTVR and Merge VR. Big video game companies and publishers are on the list too.” ESA says that in addition to Microsoft, we can expect to see AR/VR gaming announcements from Crytek, Ubisoft, Razer, and Playstation as well.
With Microsoft’s Xbox E3 Briefing set for Monday, June 15 at 9:30 am PDT, stay tuned to Winbeta for coverage of the latest Xbox and HoloLens news expected to come from Microsoft next week.
