AltspaceVR, a social VR app which allows users to connect and communicate in real time within virtual reality, is breaking free of its invite-only beta chains and officially opening its doors to the world for good.
AltspaceVR has been in development for some time now, largely using a Willy Wonka-esque invite-only beta model where the company would open its doors to selected users for short periods of time before returning to a reclusive state to hone the software. Several ‘open beta access weekends’ also came and went where anyone was welcome to come in for a brief visit.
But today the company is officially launching their VR communication platform such that anyone—with or without a VR headset—is welcome to stop by any time, day or night. Inside, users can chat with friends and share web content through the app’s built-in web browser. You can give it a shot yourself for free, just head over to the Altspace website to get started.
Back in September AltspaceVR announced that it had raised $5.2 million in seed funding to develop its social VR platform. Since then we’ve watched the company host various events as they continuously refined the software, including a VR Superbowl party and a demonstration of the platform’s web-enabled apps with a Dungeons and Dragons session.
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AltspaceVR is now one of several social VR applications taking root in the VR space. It defines itself with a uniquely high-end aesthetic, with impressively architected environments like modern ultra swanky offices, along with a strong built-in browser which gives users three personal windows for browsing the web, and the ability to share that content to public displays sprinkled through the shared environments.
While older virtual worlds like Second Life have enabled similar functionality for some time, AltspaceVR is built from the ground-up to take advantage of immersive virtual reality headsets like the Oculus Rift.
The company says they’ll be showing off AltspaceVR’s latest features at SVVR Conference & Expo which is happening today and tomorrow (May 18th and 19th). Road to VR will be at the show to check out the launch build, among other things.
A few upcoming events inside of AltspaceVR include a presentation and developer meetup session:
- On May 26 in AltpaceVR, explorer and volcano diver Sam Cossman will lead a guided tour of one of the world’s most active lava lakes.
- On May 29 AltspaceVR visitors can meet some of the best VR game developers for an inside look at the cutting edge of the industry.
Event details will be listed at the company’s new Events page.
In April, we learned that AltspaceVR is committing to supporting the HTC Vive headset alongside its input controllers, and the company recently added support for the Kinect V2 and Leap Motion for hand tracking. While AltspaceVR isn’t yet a sure thing on Samsung’s Gear VR headset, the company says they’re experimenting with a mobile version of which would be cross-platform with the desktop version.
Although the company has now officially launched their social VR app, their business model remains unclear. Currently the software is available for free and features no ads or any other method of monetization.
