Microsoft will be releasing the first developer version of its augmented reality HoloLens headset “within the next year”, according to the company’s CEO.

Speaking to the BBC, Microsoft chief Satya Nadella, said the the V1 HoloLens headseat would be available before the end of 2016 and that the new hologram-projecting device would be focused “more around developers and enterprises.”

Microsoft first unveiled the technology at the E3 gaming conference in June, using a stunning Minecraft demo to show off the new technology.

The HoloLens headset is the first fully untethered, see-through holographic computer. The next-gen technology enables high-definition holograms to come to life, seamlessly integrating with real-world physical places, spaces, and objects, allowing the wearer to reach out and manipulate the virtual world presented to them.

Even in its development phase, the new technology has already attracted big technology companies, including AutoDesk, a software firm which creates tools for the architecture, engineering and manufacturing fields. The technology also offers wider implications to the leisure industry, which is just starting to capitalise on the less advanced Oculus Rift headset.