Microsoft HoloLens: What's Next For Mixed Reality Headset

— -- Ever since Microsoft's HoloLens was first shown off in January, the mixed reality headset has generated buzz and ideas for how the technology can be used. Now, Microsoft is gearing up for a crucial next step for leveraging the potential of HoloLens by letting developers get their hands on the technology.

Microsoft is taking the headset on a North American tour spanning eleven cities in an effort to entice developers into purchasing one of the $3,000 developer's edition kits which will be available early next year.

Getting enough developers building experiences for the holographic headset is an important next step before Microsoft ultimately releases a consumer version. So far, the software company has showed off a variety of ways the technology can be used, including NASA exploring the surface of Mars, using the glasses to virtually design a new product and a holographic video game in a world you're a part of, among others.

At Microsoft's Windows 10 devices event on Tuesday, the software company showed off "Project X-Ray," a game that includes wearable holograms and included the player going to battle in a holographic world set inside his living room.

"I just can't wait to see what Windows developers are going to do with holographic computing," Terry Myerson, Microsoft's executive vice president of the Windows and Devices Group said at the event.

Microsoft made it clear the glasses would not rely on a PC connection, phones or any external wires, allowing the user to walk around unencumbered in a mixed-reality space and making them ideal for everything from mixed reality gaming to moving around in a busy workplace.