Microsoft Kinect Is Discontinued: What Replaces It?

Here is the short answer. Microsoft no longer sells a Kinect: Xbox Kinect manufacturing ended in 2017, and the Azure Kinect Developer Kit was discontinued in October 2023. But the Kinect lineage did not die. Microsoft licensed its depth camera technology to Orbbec, whose Femto cameras are the officially recommended replacement, and Neural Lab partners with Orbbec to pair that hardware heritage with modern gesture control software, taking direct advantage of Orbbec's 3D depth sensing and IR imaging. If you loved what Kinect promised, a camera that turns human movement into input, the 2026 version of that promise is Orbbec hardware where depth is needed and AirTouch software on any RGB camera where it is not.

What did Kinect give the field?

It is hard to overstate what Kinect did for camera-based interaction. It put skeletal tracking in millions of living rooms, gave a generation of researchers and exhibit builders an affordable depth camera, and proved to the public that a screen could respond to a wave of the hand. Much of today's gesture control industry, Neural Lab included, works on problems Kinect made imaginable. This article is written with respect for that heritage, because we consider ourselves part of it.

Why was Kinect discontinued twice?

The Xbox Kinect was discontinued in 2017 after game developers moved on. Microsoft revived the sensor for industry as the Azure Kinect DK, then discontinued that too in October 2023, leaving its SDK unmaintained. The lesson for anyone building on a single vendor's sensor is about platform risk: when the sensor goes away, everything compiled against it inherits the problem. It is a strong argument for approaches where the camera is a replaceable commodity rather than the foundation.

Where does the Kinect hardware heritage live now?

With Orbbec. When Microsoft wound down the Azure Kinect DK, it pointed customers to Orbbec, which licensed Microsoft's time-of-flight depth technology. The Orbbec Femto Bolt, listed around $418 at the time of writing, is the recommended drop-in replacement and reportedly offers identical operating modes to the Azure Kinect DK, with a wrapper that lets existing Azure Kinect SDK code migrate. The Femto Mega, co-developed with Microsoft and NVIDIA, adds on-board processing. Orbbec also makes the Gemini series of stereo depth cameras, a line we know well: Neural Lab is an Orbbec partner, AirTouch takes advantage of Orbbec's 3D depth sensing and IR cameras alongside standard RGB tracking, and our Orbbec camera page covers which models we recommend and why.

Do you still need a depth camera for gesture control?

For most gesture control jobs, no. AirTouch is patented gesture control and hand tracking software from Neural Lab that reads hands through any standard RGB camera and converts gestures into the mouse, keyboard, and touch input every app already understands, turning any screen into a touchless interface. Windows, Linux, and Android today, macOS on the way, roughly 50ms latency, and patented intent detection that keeps a public screen obeying the right person. Kinect asked developers to build apps around a sensor. AirTouch flips that: your existing apps become gesture-ready on cameras you already own. And when depth or IR does help, in dark rooms, precision spatial work, or Kinect-class body tracking, the Orbbec partnership makes that a camera choice rather than a platform bet.

How do you rebuild a Kinect project in 2026?

• Hardware. Kinect required its sensor on every device. AirTouch spans any RGB camera and, through the Orbbec partnership, the 3D depth and IR cameras that carry Kinect's licensed technology forward.

• Migration path. Azure Kinect SDK code can move to Orbbec's Femto line through the compatibility wrapper. Gesture control projects can skip the SDK entirely: AirTouch drives existing apps with no code.

• App compatibility. Kinect experiences were built per app against the SDK. AirTouch works at the operating system level, so everything that accepts a click or a touch responds on day one.

• Sensor range. Time-of-flight depth cameras have physics-bound range limits and struggle in direct sunlight. AirTouch range is limited by the camera, not the software; deployments run at 20 feet and beyond on standard cameras.

• Sterile and soiled environments. AirTouch is trained for gloved hands including surgical glove colors, works through protective glass, and is deployed in clinical settings today, an area the consumer-era Kinect never targeted.

• Platform risk. A discontinued sensor ended two generations of Kinect projects. Software on commodity cameras cannot be discontinued out from under you the same way, and Orbbec's licensed Microsoft technology now has multiple shipping camera lines behind it.

Which path should you take?

If you are migrating a Kinect-era project in medical or OEM settings, we will help you scope it on real hardware: book a demo. For everything else, start a free trial and point AirTouch at the camera you already have.

Related: Orbbec cameras for AirTouch, gesture control and hand tracking software, what is a touchless interface, and AirTouch vs Intel RealSense.