Last year, Microsoft and Meta seemed to be the worst of enemies, poised to compete fiercely for the future of work in the Metaverse.

But yesterday, at its Connect 2022 event, Meta announced that it would be partnering with another mega-tech company - Microsoft. It's a surprise partnership that will see Microsoft and Meta combine forces. For starters, Microsoft will bring its core services - Teams, Office, Windows and even Xbox Cloud Gaming - to Meta's Quest VR headsets.

Virtual reality games have become very popular in recent years, and developers are coming up with titles on a regular basis. Some of these games are classics refreshed with added VR capabilities, like "Resident Evil 4," while others are entirely new games designed for VR, like "Bonelabs." Yesterday, Meta announced a few more additions to the Meta Quest library, including "Iron Man VR" and "Among Us VR," allowing players to live out their dreams of being Tony Stark or sneaking into a virtual spaceship while trying not to be exposed as an imposter.

Xbox and virtual reality fans can rejoice, as Xbox Cloud Gaming is entering the Meta Quest ecosystem. This will allow the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate library to be streamed directly into the headset and provide the best gaming experience ever, aside from being Master Chief in a "Halo" game.

More involved and collaborative virtual workplaces?

With the new Microsoft Teams integration, Meta hopes to make virtual workplaces more involved and collaborative than just Zoom calls and Teams messages. In addition to Teams, Meta has announced compatibility with Microsoft 365. There's nothing more exciting than working on a virtual Excel spreadsheet or watching a virtual PowerPoint presentation. "With Windows 365 coming to Quest, you'll have a new way to securely deliver the entire Windows experience, including all custom apps, content and settings to your VR device with all the power of Windows and Windows apps," Nadella said.

Meta hopes that the integration of Microsoft's suite of productivity and business software will make virtual meetings less distant. At best, virtual collaboration in meetings of the future will be a little less isolating. At worst, every office meeting will now be accompanied by the lifeless, computer-generated stare of your virtual colleagues.

This partnership is still in its infancy, and more details on exactly when these experiences will be available in the coming months.