Windows Mixed Reality buy-in starts at $900

Windows Mixed Reality headsets will be available with a PC for around $900 later this year, and Microsoft has confirmed that the platform will also support Steam content.

Bundles containing a headset and motion controllers will start at $399, with HP, Lenovo, Dell and Acer all due to launch hardware later this year. There will also be two lines of Windows Mixed Reality PCs: the regular line will comprise desktops and laptops with integrated graphics, running experiences at 60 frames per second; the "Ultra" line will have discrete graphics and hit a higher rate of 90fps.

The cheapest available PC will start at $499, providing a rock-bottom entry point of $900 for all of the necessary equipment. Price remains a sensitive issue for VR and MR hardware, with both Oculus and HTC taking steps to make the Rift and the Vive more affordable throughout the year.

Windows MR hardware will also run content from Steam, the platform of choice for the vast majority of HTC Vive owners, but one that Oculus has embraced only recently. In a statement published by PCGamesN, Valve's Joe Ludwig described SteamVR compatibility for Windows MR as, "a big step in growing VR as an open platform for developers and consumers."

It will certainly make a large number of games immediately available to Windows MR early adopters. A promotional video released by Microsoft confirmed that Obduction, Space Pirate Trainer, Superhot VR, Luna, Fantastic Contraption and Minecraft will all be coming to the platform.

In a blog post, Microsoft's Alex Kipman revealed that 343 Industries is working to bring "future Halo experiences into mixed reality," though no other details of what that involves are available at this point.