Microsoft HoloLens release update: Game developers showing keen interest on upcoming headset

Microsoft website

With the advent of virtual reality in the gaming industry, many developers are already setting their eyes on the prize – to be among the first to create VR-ready game titles, compatible with the upcoming virtual reality headsets. One of the most talked-about contenders in the VR peripherals field that developers want to get their hands on is Microsoft's very own HoloLens project. 

Recently, indie game developer Stress Level Zero expressed their interest in the HoloLens and its vaunted augmented reality. In a video teaser released by the company, Stress Level Zero imagines the HoloLens being able to transform a boring Sunday family drive into an action-packed gaming experience. Not only limited to the home living room, using the HoloLens will take players into their levels of "Traffic Slug," a modern-day version of "Metal Slug" wherein players use whatever view they have outside, on the road, and shoot augmented reality enemies. Stress Level Zero also pushes ideas for a "Tower Defense" type of gameplay wherein players control machine gun turrets, and coordinate with other players on the road as they shoot airborne opponents. Meanwhile, drivers can also participate in the action through a "Sonic the Hedgehog" style of driving through golden hoops in the traffic. 

Meanwhile, Turn 10 Studios, makers of "Forza Motorsport 6," are also exploring potential applications of the game to the Microsoft HoloLens, which would be exciting as the title has been developed to be as close to reality as possible. Aside from physics-based racing sim gameplay, "Forza Motorsport 6" also features close to real-world vehicles, as well as up to 26 different weather patterns that make each race as challenging as possible. 

The Microsoft HoloLens is scheduled to be released by next year, although no specific rollout dates have been announced. In addition, the first version of the HoloLens is also reported to be a developer's kit, and it is expected that the consumer version will follow in the later months of 2016.