Microsoft has just made a ‘real’ move that could vastly improve its ‘virtual’ fortunes. Do you see what I did there? No? Well, if you want it in somewhat plainer language, the big M has just nabbed an apparent VR pioneer in its efforts to improve its hand in the sector.
Have a run through the best VR games on PC here.
That’s according to Polygon, which is reporting that Mark Bolas – who mentored Oculus Rift creator Palmer Luckey when heading up MxR Lab at the University of Southern California (USC) – has joined Microsoft to take up an as of yet undefined role at the company.
If you’re wondering why this is important, as well as aiding Oculus man Luckey, Bolas is a renowned virtual reality researcher and guided the team behind celebrated VR shooter Raw Data (see below). Indeed, Bolas has been working in the world of virtual reality in some shape or form since the 1980s.
Microsoft is itself yet to announce the move, though Polygon claims his former employers at USC have confirmed he is now working at the Redmond giant.
The suggestion is, he’ll be helping Microsoft’s various R&D departments better get to grips with VR, building on his decades of experience.
Though Microsoft itself doesn’t have a VR device of its own, the company is increasingly interested in both VR and AR technologies – the latter being the driving force behind its HoloLens headset. Expect to hear a lot about the fruits of Bolas’ labour in the world of VR in the years ahead.