Earlier this week, Microsoft and Meta announced that the Xbox Cloud Gaming app was now available to download and use for the Meta Quest 2, 3 and Pro VR headsets. However, Microsoft has also quietly added versions of its Word, Excel, and PowerPoint productivity apps to the Meta Quest store this week as well.
As reported by Android Central, you can download the Word, Excel, and PowerPoint apps from the store. They can be used by owners of the original Oculus Quest headset, along with the more recent Meta Quest 2, 3, and Pro products. You will need a Microsoft account to access these apps on those devices.
Android Central has also posted a quick video on YouTube showing the Office apps in action with the Meta Quest headset. It even shows how the Word, Excel, and PowerPoint apps can run side by side while being viewed in the VR environment. The apps are designed to be run in a mixed reality setting, so users can still see the outside world while they are writing documents in Word, making spreadsheets in Excel, or presentations in PowerPoint.
While the apps can be controlled with virtual fingers via the headset, they can also be accessed by connecting the Meta Quest to a Bluetooth mouse and keyboard.
Back in October 2022, Microsoft and Meta jointly announced other VR collaborations that would include adding Teams support for Meta Quest headsets, adding the Outlook email app, and integrating Microsoft Intune and Azure Active Directory support for those headsets for enterprise users. Hopefully, the introduction of the Office apps in the Meta Quest store means we are getting closer to seeing more Microsoft apps and features on Meta"s VR headsets.
Of course, Microsoft is also developing Office and Teams apps for Apple"s upcoming Vision Pro mixed reality headset. That $3,499 product is expected to launch sometime in early 2024.