Second Life creator Linden Lab stepped into the virtual reality (VR) field back in 2017 with a social platform called Sansar. One of the earliest open-world VR apps designed around social interaction Sansar has had a very mixed life and now Linden Lab has handed the reins over to Wookey Project Corp. which has purchased the platform.
Wookey Project Corp. is a San Francisco-based technology company which has assumed full control over Sansar. In a blog post, Linden Lab said this was done: “to streamline its focus to continue the development and operations of the leading virtual world Second Life and licensed money services provider Tilia.
“We are proud to have given birth to this amazing platform for creativity and live events, and encourage our community to continue the process of supporting Sansar as it shifts to new ownership.”
Linden Lab has always struggled to maintain a healthy ecosystem and user base, trying to do so through live events such as last years Monstercat: Call of the Wild Experience. This was a virtual party to celebrate the label’s eighth-anniversary featuring performances from more than a dozen Monstercat artists.
It seems Wookey might be going for a similar tact with a Sansar post saying users can expect: “More of the amazing events you know and love! More cosplay karaoke, more zero-gravity game nights, more of the massive interstellar shows that Sansar’s known for – thousands joining from anywhere in the world for one-of-a-kind live performances. You can also expect more features for meeting, socializing and hanging out with friends from around the world.” Whether this will grow the community remains to be seen. One thing that could help is wider device support, with further details on this expected in the coming weeks.
With the sale, Linden Lab is now moving away from VR as Second Life isn’t compatible. Even at 16 years old the platform still has around 40,000 active users creating content.
As people are forced to work and socialise remotely, 2020 is certainly going to be the year where online VR interaction can grow. Sansar already has competition from the likes of Somnium Space and AltspaceVR, with Facebook Horizon also due out this year. For further updates as Sansar looks forward, keep reading VRFocus.