Microsoft and Meta Team Up To Build The Virtual Office of The Future: Meta and Microsoft sign an agreement so that the products and services of the company that Bill Gates founded, such as Teams, Office, Windows, and Xbox Cloud, are integrated into the metaverse that Meta is building. The company Mark Zuckerberg confirmed its alliance with Microsoft during the Meta Connect 2022 virtual conference, according to The Verge. 

During the conference, Mark Zuckerberg explained that the new experiences that both companies will provide in the metaverse will serve as the basis for creating the “virtual office of the future.” Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said integrating its products and services into Horizon will unlock new experiences and give users new ways to connect with each other.

Microsoft in the Meta Metaverse

The alliance between the two companies will allow users to use Microsoft products in the Meta metaverse, using the new Meta Quest Pro virtual reality glasses. The glasses cost about $1,500. 

The Meta Quest Pro will perform a function similar to that of a computer, allowing people to access Microsoft products, such as the Windows 365 suite of programs. That is, using the Meta VR glasses, people will be able to attend meetings, and conduct their jobs using Windows software and Microsoft cloud services. They can even connect their Xbox controls to the Meta Quest Pro to play video games. 

Xbox CloudGaming

The technology company will also integrate its Xbox Cloud Gaming experience into Meta through the Meta Quest Pro. So the alliance between the two giants also seems to go beyond the work environment. Gaming expert @BenjiSales commented on Twitter that Microsoft is pushing its Xbox ecosystem beyond the console. The Xbox Cloud Gaming experience in Meta Quest Pro will allow Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers to stream their games in the virtual world. 

Former Amazon Studios Chief Strategy Officer Matthew Ball also commented on the new alliance between Microsoft and Meta. On his Twitter account, Ball noted that companies are increasingly collaborating to create a metaverse that is truly interoperable across the industry. Also, the editor of The Verge, Tom Warren, highlighted that this is the largest association that the companies have signed since the integration of Facebook in Windows Phone 10 years ago. 

Microsoft’s work in the metaverse

Microsoft announced its entry into the Metaverse in 2021, when it unveiled its Mesh for Teams mixed reality product, focused on the workplace. Mesh emerged after the confinement caused by the Covid pandemic, which prevented workers from going to their jobs. Similarly, the technology multinational acquired the video game company, Activision Blizzard, for almost $70 billion earlier this year. At the time, Microsoft highlighted the importance of video games in the future development of the metaverse.

Gates’ company is also helping major brands, such as Mercedes Benz, enter the virtual world. Recently, the technology company reported that Mercedes Benz was digitizing its processes in the industrial metaverse.

Meta advances in The Development of its Metaverse

Legs are coming soon! Are you excited? 🎉 pic.twitter.com/SB6qSepKm4

— Meta Horizon (@MetaHorizon) October 11, 2022

Regarding Meta, one year after the name change, Zuckerberg announced important advances in the development of its virtual world. One of the biggest criticisms of the Meta metaverse is that the avatars were visualized without legs. The company has met the challenge and integrated lower limbs into Horizon avatars. This will allow users to show off their full body within this metaverse. 

Meta also announced the launch of the long-awaited Iron Man video game in virtual reality, which will be available next month.