Windows PC owners will be able to dabble with the second generation Kinect sensor from 15 July, according to Microsoft Store listings in the US and UK.

The Kinect for Windows v2 Sensor will cost £159 in the UK, $199 in the States, with free delivery and free returns if required.

It is primarily designed for developers to create voice and gesture-controlled applications and works with the Kinect for Windows software development kit 2.0. It doesn't ship with any software and will only work with Windows apps designed for the second generation device specifically.

The SDK and more information on the tools for developers are available from the Kinect for Windows Dev Center.

Although Microsoft has admitted that there is a future for the Xbox One without a Kinect Sensor, even confirming that, without it, 10 per cent more GPU is available to developers.

READ: Xbox Studios boss: 'Hats off to Sony. They've got great momentum right now'

Speaking to Pocket-lint during the E3 videogames trade show in June, Xbox Redmond Studios boss Matt Booty said that while the company is still committed to Kinect, it has listened to its fans to create an alternative option if required. "We have really have been listening to fans over the last year and we've also really been listening to developers and I think what you were hinting at is that we've recently made available 10 per cent more of the GPU to developers," he said.

"So that's something that will have to be enabled within the game - it's not something the player does by plugging in or unplugging their Kinect. It's something very much separate where we're trying to make available more power of the box."