Dolby Atmos and Dolby Vision May be Exclusive to Xbox Series X/S for Two Years

Dolby Atmos and Dolby Vision have been two features prominently touted on Microsoft’s latest consoles. The Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S have offered Dolby Atmos since their launch in November 2020. Dolby Vision, on the other hand, is primed to be accessible to players sometime this year.

Some have questioned why the features aren’t supported on other platforms. It appears as though there may be an exclusivity deal in play. According to a now-removed Xbox Wire France blog post, Microsoft has entered a two-year exclusivity deal with Dolby that secures the use of the technology on consoles. Although the post was removed, business analyst Roberto Serrano spotted and grabbed a couple of screenshots of the post.

“Les Xbox Series X|S sont compatibles Dolby Atmos depuis leur sortie et le Dolby Vision arrivera sur ces consoles au cours de l’année 2021, les deux technologies resteront exclusives à l’écosystème Xbox pendant deux ans.” pic.twitter.com/QIDUU11xSQ

— Roberto Serrano’ (@geronimo_73_) June 1, 2021

Dolby Atmos has been available to Xbox Series X/S users since launch. However, the Xbox One has supported the 3D virtual surround sound technology since 2017. Though, in order to gain access to it, Xbox users must pay an $18 CAD fee. Owners of the new Xbox Wireless Headset gain access to Dolby Atmos on Xbox and PC for free until September.

As far as Dolby Vision and HDR is concerned, Microsoft has been testing the technology on Xbox Series X/S for a few months at this point. Alpha testers gained access earlier in May. Microsoft has said that Dolby Vision will be widely accessible later this year.

Although the blog post was removed, perhaps an official announcement will be made during the Xbox and Bethesda E3 showcase scheduled for June 13th at 1 PM ET/ 10 AM PT.