Acer, Asus, Dell, HP, and Lenovo will ship Windows 10 VR headsets, starting at $299

At a Windows 10 event in New York today, Microsoft said that third-party companies will be coming out with “affordable” virtual reality (VR) headsets for Windows 10 PCs. With these headsets, users will be able to experience mixed reality content — like a 3D version of a real sand castle — customized in the new Paint 3D app on desktop.

Acer, Asus, Dell, HP, and Lenovo will be bringing the headsets to market starting at $299, said Terry Myerson, executive vice president for Microsoft’s Windows and Devices Group.

By supporting the launch of these new devices, Microsoft wants to avoid the cost and complexity of powerful VR headsets like the Oculus Rift and the HTC Vive, and even Microsoft’s own HoloLens augmented reality (AR) headset. And because they’ll work with Windows 10 PCs, they might not require all the high-end specs you’d find on a powerful desktop VR rig — a laptop may be just fine on its own.

“There’s zero need for a separate room, zero need for a complicated setup,” Myerson said.

The headsets will be the first with inside-out six-degrees-of-freedom (6DOF) sensors, Myerson said.

Earlier this month, Google introduced its own low-cost Daydream View VR headset that works with certain Android devices.