Phil Spencer doesn’t seem to be a fan of VR, and his next-generation Xbox console will reflect that. Speaking with Stevivor during X019, Microsoft’s head of gaming revealed that Project Scarlett wasn’t being designed with virtual reality in mind. He gives two reasons for that: one is that nobody expects it from the brand, and two, VR simply isn’t profitable enough.
“I have some issues with VR — it’s isolating and I think of games as a communal, kind of together experience. We’re responding to what our customers are asking for and… nobody’s asking for VR,” Spencer said. “The vast majority of our customers know if they want a VR experience, there’s places to go get those. We see the volumes of those on PC and other places.”