Microsoft Dismantled Before Christmas: Layoffs and Even Wholesale Shutdowns
Way to end the year
LAST time we wrote about Microsoft cuts was only days ago. What a heck of a year for Microsoft!
Now this:
This probably means more layoffs too, but not a word about this in the following Microsoft-connected site of Microsoft Paul:
Even though Microsoft said earlier this year that it was still committed to Windows Mixed Reality and HoloLens 2 (despite recent layoffs), we haven’t seen a new Windows Mixed Reality headset for a couple of years. Consumers and hardware manufacturers quickly lost interest in the platform, and Microsoft also reportedly canceled its own HoloLens 3 headset.According to the latest Steam hardware and software survey, Windows Mixed Reality headsets accounted for just 5.7% of VR headsets used on Steam in November 2023, with the majority of users using Oculus/Meta Quest and Valve Index headsets. Microsoft actually teamed up with Meta to bring Xbox Cloud Gaming and its Office apps to Meta Quests headsets this month.
Windows Mixed Reality launched at a time when Microsoft was very much interested in 3D. This was when Microsoft released two “Creators” updates for Windows 10 and also introduced apps like Paint 3D and Remix3D, which have now been deprecated. This is another example of Microsoft entering a new market and then throwing the towel after a couple of years, but the tech industry’s obsession with the “Metaverse” didn’t last long either. If Meta is still investing in VR these days, it will be interesting to see if Apple will be more successful with its upcoming Vision Pro headset, which is expected to launch early next year.
As a reminder, Microsoft also shut down its "metaverse" unit and fired the staff, so it seems like a familiar pattern this year. Way to end the year... more layoffs.
How will the Biden administration justify giving Microsoft the next "defence" contract bailout? Something about the next buzzword, "Hey Hi", rather than "metaverse" or "clown computing" (JEDI, money from Trump) or "AR"? Microsoft is bleeding cash. █
"Microsoft, the world’s most valuable company, declared a profit of $4.5 billion in 1998; when the cost of options awarded that year, plus the change in the value of outstanding options, is deducted, the firm made a loss of $18 billion, according to Smithers."