Meta has revived its VR Animation Player (2019) with the new release of Theater Elsewhere, a fresh iteration of the free animation player app that allows users to experience immersive, hand-painted worlds created with in VR art app Quill by Smoothstep (2021).

Meta says the newly revamped Theater Elsewhere app includes a new user interface for easier navigation, faster performance, and enhanced controls, designed to offer a seamless user experience.

It also packs in over 50 VR-animated shorts, curated selections, and more than 2,400 user-generated content pieces, which you can explore more deeply in ‘Free Fly Mode’, letting you view the creations from any angle.

Supporting all Quest devices, including the original 2019-era Quest, Theater Elsewhere was internally developed by a small team since July 2023, composed of Art Director and legendary artist Goro Fujita.

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Fujita, a DreamWorks Animation veteran, is also known for his work at the now defunct Oculus Story Studios on VR animated short films Henry (2015) and chapter 1 of Wolves in the Walls (2018), as well as a massive slate of VR animations, some of which you can see in the Theater Elsewhere app right now.

You can read the full Q&A over at the Meta blog, which dives deeper into Fujita’s passions, past and present. Meanwhile, Meta says it expects Theater Elsewhere to continue growing, with more content updates and new features planned for the future.

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Well before the first modern XR products hit the market, Scott recognized the potential of the technology and set out to understand and document its growth. He has been professionally reporting on the space for nearly a decade as Editor at Road to VR, authoring more than 4,000 articles on the topic. Scott brings that seasoned insight to his reporting from major industry events across the globe.