July 10, 2025
BlogMicrosoft is finally nixing its Mesh mixed-reality efforts
“Bet-the-business” strategies aren’t forever. A prime example: Microsoft’s years-long efforts to grow its consumer and enterprise mixed-reality hardware, software and services.
Just a few years ago, in 2022, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella was touting the idea that Microsoft could be a leader in multiple metaverses, from gaming to commercial. On the enterprise side, the company was positioning its HoloLens, Mesh, IoT services and digital twins as key components of its evolving enterprise metaverse stack.
After a string of setbacks for the HoloLens (ranging from leadership issues to problems with a $22 billion deal for ruggedized HoloLens hardware for the U.S. Army), Microsoft announced it would completely discontinue support for its HoloLens 2 headsets of Dec. 31, 2027.
Now it’s also dismantling Mesh, its set of technologies that enable shared 3D virtual environments. In 2024, Microsoft made Mesh generally available in Teams meetings so that users who weren’t physically co-located could share an “immersive” virtual space. The Mesh platform, which some likened to the virtual 3D world known as Second Life, never really caught on. Then “return to office” initiatives started undoing remote and hybrid work arrangements, and AI overtook the metaverse/Web 3.0 buzzwords on Wall Street and beyond.
Mesh’s ‘Evolution’ = Discontinuation
In a message on the Microsoft 365 Admin Center in May, Microsoft officials told customers to expect Mesh to “evolve.” At that time, in MC1074973, Microsoft said it would be retiring the Mesh Toolkit effective June 24, 2025. At the same time, officials said:
“Microsoft is excited to continue investment in immersive experiences, and we will continue to share more information about how Mesh is evolving,”
A month later, customers learned how Microsoft defined “evolution.” Microsoft issued a new message (MC1111181) that noted Mesh was being retired and replaced with Teams immersive as of Dec. 1, 2025. Microsoft is pulling the plug on the Mesh PC and Quest apps, the mesh.cloud.microsoft website and the Immersive Space (3D) view in Teams as of that date.
Confusingly, immersive events in Teams will remain, which are different from the Immersive Space view in Teams. Immersive 3D meetings in Teams are for small (up-to 16 people) casual meetings, scrums, standups, brainstorming sessions, etc. Mesh events were for up to 330 people for things like all-hands, town halls, onboardings, etc. Mesh events also let companies create interactive objects and highly customized 3D spaces like a virtual version of a company lobby, while Teams immersive relies on pre-created meeting “spaces”.
“Mixed reality just didn’t become the big opportunity that Microsoft hoped at the time,” said Directions on Microsoft analyst Jim Gaynor. “Retiring Mesh looks like the last stages of winding down something that’s not a priority for Microsoft any longer as they keep pruning away things that don’t contribute to AI and Copilot.”
Teams immersive is accessible via the Teams calendar. “To schedule an immersive event, select the drop-down next to New Event, then choose Immersive event,” Microsoft explains.
