Topic collection / 11 stories
Look at the systems that let identities travel—or leave them tied to a service. Release notes and shutdowns both belong in the story.
A good place to start
VRChat’s 2017 Steam release described a social world whose identities and environments would be built with its community.
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11 stories
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case study 2024
Microsoft's 2018 Avatar Editor broadened bodies, clothing and profile presentation while keeping Xbox Original Avatars available. A 2024 notice reportedly scheduled the newer editor to close in 2025, illustrating the difference between preserving a picture and preserving an editable identity system.
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case study 2024
Mozilla ended its hosted Hubs service on 31 May 2024 while the Hubs Foundation continued the open-source code as Community Edition. The case clarifies the difference between preserving software and preserving a functioning social place.
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case study 2023
Microsoft's documentation records AltspaceVR's 10 March 2023 shutdown after years of meetups and events. Even where creators retain source assets, a social world's audience, schedule and shared habits require a different preservation plan.
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dispatch 2008
Sony's 2008 open beta turned the PlayStation 3's social layer into plazas, personal spaces and scheduled activity. The useful lesson is not that every console needs a virtual mall; it is that an avatar becomes legible through places and routines.
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platform watch 2025
VRChat’s iOS and Android launch reaches more screens, but its hardware limits make mobile presence different from full VR.
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platform watch 2024
The Horizon OS licensing announcement framed identity, avatars, friends and social graphs as a layer that could move across mixed-reality devices and spaces.
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platform watch 2024
Mesh's 2024 general availability connected Teams avatars to shared 3D spaces on PCs and Quest headsets, including custom organizational environments.
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platform watch 2022
The February 2022 OSC release let external software send values into avatar parameters and read them back.
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platform watch 2021
Meta’s 2021 open beta used avatars, spatial audio and mixed reality to stage remote collaboration in VR.
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platform watch 2020
An October 2020 product update exposed full-body, rigged avatars for use in partner spaces and creative tools.
Read the storyplatform watch 2017
VRChat’s 2017 Steam release described a social world whose identities and environments would be built with its community.
Read the story