Microsoft has announced that it hopes to introduce Mixed Reality headsets to its Xbox console gaming platform by 2018. That means the Xbox One and forthcoming Project Scorpio could get their own augmented or virtual reality devices next year.

Microsoft rebranded its Windows Holographic tech recently, to Windows Mixed Reality, and announced that other manufacturers would be creating their own headsets for PC. Previously, the Microsoft HoloLens was the only flagbearer for the system.

Acer is the first to show its hand, with the Acer Windows Mixed Reality Developer Edition, as revealed at the Games Developer Conference in San Francisco this week. It looks more like a VR headset in design, with an attached cable, but still has AR abilities. It will start shipping to developers soon.

Other manufacturers keen to make their own hardware include Asus, HP, Lenovo and 3Glasses, but we would expect that list to grow once console support enters the fray.

Standard specifications for Mixed Reality headsets include two hiigh-resolution LCD displays with 1440 x 1440 pixels, a native refresh rate of 90Hz, built-in audio out and microphone support, and a single cable with HDMI 2.0 and USB 3.0 for display and data connectivity respectively.

Microsoft will unveil more information about its Mixed Reality programme at its own Build conference in May.