Microsoft Is Ending Kinect Production

It's the end of an era for Microsoft Kinect.

Every bit Co. Design first reported, Microsoft is no longer manufacturing the movement sensor, which debuted in 2022 and was originally made for the Xbox 360. Redmond will however back up Kinect for Xbox users, but is no longer producing new Kinect devices, significant the standalone device is going away after retailers sell their remaining stock.

"Manufacturing for Kinect for Xbox 1 has ended but it is not the end of the journey for the engineering," a Microsoft spokesperson said in a statement to PCMag. "Kinect continues to delight tens of millions of Xbox owners and Kinect innovations alive on in Xbox I, Windows 10, Cortana, Windows Mixed Reality and future technologies."

As Co. Blueprint noted, Microsoft has been moving away from the engineering science for a while at present in favor of more traditional gaming experiences. In 2022, it dropped Kinect gestures on the Xbox One, stating that demand for the features didn't justify the investment needed to back up them. The Kinect team, meanwhile, has already moved on to create other products, such as Cortana and Windows Hello.

Microsoft initially touted Kinect as the next level of movement command, one that eschewed physical, easily-on controllers by using the human being body itself for input. The product, originally dubbed Project Natal, received much fanfare in its early days, making high-profile appearances on Oprah, Ellen, and The Late Bear witness with Jimmy Fallon.

In our 2022 Kinect review, PCMag's Jeffrey L. Wilson noted that Microsoft had "succeeded in making its spin on motion gaming non only a reality, simply an insanely fun Xbox improver." He also noted at the time that "Kinect's depth-sensing camera and microphone … kills whatever accusations of it existence a Wii-inspired gimmick." But, Kinect also had some bug. In our May 2022 Xbox One review, PCMag's Will Greenwald noted that manus gestures felt "generally clunky" and he couldn't get Kinect to consistently allow him perform sure functions.

For a trip downwardly memory lane, check out our 2022 roundup of The Best Kinect Games.

Nigh Angela Moscaritolo

Angela Moscaritolo

Angela Moscaritolo is PCMag's skilful on fitness and smart home products. Teaching yoga for nearly 10 years has helped her in evaluating a range of connected health products including fitness trackers, eye rate monitors, rowers, smart scales, stationary bikes, strength training machines, treadmills, and more. Angela also tests smart home devices from her ranch in Florida, including air purifiers, kitchen appliances, and robot vacuums, simply to name a few.