Microsoft Has Reportedly Killed the HoloLens 3 Project

Microsoft has reportedly abandoned the HoloLens 3, as its mixed reality efforts are in a chaotic state and project members are leaving the company.

According to a report by Business Insider, Microsoft killed the project in the middle of 2021 and shifted its VR focus on a new venture with Samsung. This leaves HoloLens with an uncertain future as Microsoft struggles to figure out just what to do with the technology.

HoloLens first launched in 2016 as a pair of mixed reality smartglasses that displays information about the world around you, just like Google Glass. And similar to Google Glass, HoloLens is turning out to be a major flop.

The main issue plaguing HoloLens is that the team doesn't know what direction to take it in, according to sources who spoke to Business Insider. On one hand, you have the project lead who wants to create a mixed reality headset for the average consumer. On the other, you have people who want to continue focusing on HoloLens' business audience.

There are also some who want to meet the project's military contract. All this has led to a lot of in-fighting as each side struggles to gain control over HoloLens.

The situation has led to low company morale, with people leaving Microsoft. Reportedly, some have even gone to Meta to work on its metaverse projects.

For the future, Microsoft hopes to shift its mixed reality projects from hardware to a software platform for other headsets, but even this strategy still seems vague.