The farewell to Windows Mixed Reality was announced at the end of December, but has now become effective: with the latest build of Windows 11, in fact, the Windows Mixed Reality feature is gone from the Microsoft operating system. Mixed Reality is thus retiring seven years after its launch.
In fact, The Verge explains that Windows Mixed Reality has been removed from the last one release of Windows 11, or from the Preview Build 26052 version of the operating system, released on the Dev and Canary channels in the last few hours. The elimination of the feature was also confirmed by the update changelog published on the Windows blog. For now, of course, the elimination of Windows Mixed Reality It does not affect users who have a stable version of the operating system, but only those registered with the Insider program.
In fact, Build 26052 appears to be the one from “spring cleaning” for Windows 11: with the latter, in fact, Microsoft has blocked Windows compatibility with some old PCs equipped with CPUs considered too antiquated. Nothing too strange, if we consider that the Builds that start with number 26 are those that should lead, in the second half of the year, to Windows 11 release 24H2the biggest update of 2024 for Redmond’s operating system.
In fact, however, i Windows Mixed Reality compatible headsets will stop working once you have installed the new Build or Windows 11 2H24 in stable version. At the same time, the compatibility of Windows Mixed Reality viewers with SteamVR and SteamVR Beta will no longer be possible: if you have a Redmond viewer (with the exception of Hololens, which operates separately), you risk lose access to your PC VR titlesunless you buy a new one headset.
For those who want continue to use Windows Mixed RealityHowever, Microsoft recommends not updating your PC to Windows 11 24H2 or at release subsequent ones, instead keeping it stuck to the latest stable version of Windows 11 23H2. By doing so, your devices will work perfectly with SteamVR until 2026.