Eric Romo, co-founder and CEO of AltspaceVR, is joining Facebook’s Social VR team.
Following financial difficulties, which almost saw the complete shut down of the social VR app, AltspaceVR found new life when it was acquired by Microsoft back in October.
Romo, who founded AltspaceVR in January 2013, will be moving to the role of Director of Product at Facebooks’s Social VR team, the group behind Facebook Spaces.
Romo shares his thoughts in a Facebook post announcing the news:
“As I look back at my journey with AltspaceVR, I couldn’t be prouder of what we accomplished. We built one of the first and most vibrant places to meet in VR — starting before the first consumer headsets even shipped! But it’s really the community of passionate people that has grown around AltspaceVR that amazes me most, and continues to confirm my belief that being together with others in VR will revolutionize the way we connect with each other. It wasn’t an easy decision, but I left AltspaceVR with confidence that the team is well-placed to continue pushing forward the promise of virtual communication as part of the Microsoft mixed reality ecosystem. I can’t wait to see what they’ll do next, and wish them all the best.”
Head of Facebook’s Social VR team Rachel Rubin Franklin, says they have “ambitious plans to learn and ship even more this year. With lots to tackle in 2018, I’m thrilled to have Eric on board. VR has such immense promise to connect people in new ways, and it’s only the beginning.”
It was only a couple of months ago that AltspaceVR made the shock announcement that it was closing down, putting an end to one of the earliest social virtual reality (VR) apps on the market. Such was the community support that AltspaceVR looked to be saved with the team in negotiations with several unnamed parties to try and rescue it. Well today that saving grace turned out to be Microsoft, with the company announcing the acquisition during a special event today.
Microsoft’s holding a Windows Mixed Reality event in San Francisco to usher in the arrival of several VR headsets later this month from manufacturing partners Acer, Dell, Lenovo, HP and Samsung. To bolster the content available at launch the company obviously decided that having one of the earliest pioneering teams in social VR would be a good investment, especially in its time of need.
In a blog posting AltspaceVR explains that: “AltspaceVR will stay AltspaceVR. Microsoft is most interested in preserving the current community that uses AltspaceVR to connect and interact with new and old friends. These first few months will focus on fostering our community and making sure AltspaceVR remains a friendly, welcoming and vibrant place to hang out in virtual reality.”
As it’ll continue as is AltspaceVR will still be cross-platform, continuing to work on PC and Mac on a monitor, HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, Google Daydream, and Samsung Gear VR.
As further updates surface VRFocus will let you know.
Following weeks of speculation surrounding the social VR platform’s successful turnaround, it has been revealed today that AltspaceVR is now part of Microsoft. Despite being one of the original social VR services, the company fell into financial difficulties in July, and almost completely shut down.
Update (10/3/17): At today’s Windows Mixed Reality event in San Francisco, Microsoft announced that AltspaceVR is now part of the family. The social VR platform ran out of funding in July, announcing an imminent closure, but the service was saved thanks to a passionate community response and investment from an unnamed party, which has now been revealed.
“AltspaceVR is one of the pioneers in immersive communications bringing people together in virtual reality from over 160 countries to attend meetups, comedy shows, yoga classes, dance parties, and large-scale events hosted by NBC, Reggie Watts, Justin Roiland, Drew Carey and more,” reads the short statement provided on Microsoft’s press release. “With the AltspaceVR team onboard we look forward to building the world’s preeminent mixed reality community.”
Original article (08/15/17): While AltspaceVR is currently keeping details close to its chest, the venture-backed company appears to have found a solution to their recent financial difficulties, where they were unable to secure additional venture funding.
In a message to Road to VR, a spokesperson for AltspaceVR stated “We are now in discussions with third parties to develop a sustainable solution to continue development and growth for the future. We look forward to communicating more when possible over the coming weeks and months.”
Since establishing itself as one of the first social VR platforms in 2013, the market has become increasingly diverse, with the likes of Bigscreen, Facebook Spaces, JanusVR, Rec Room, and more offering different social experiences. Despite the competition, AltspaceVR says they’ve been able to retain about 35,000 active users per month, some of whom were passionate enough about the platform to talk about their memories and connections they had made, offering donations and encouragement to the team after the closure was announced.
“In the meantime, AltspaceVR is up and running for our user community and SDK developers with the help of a skeleton crew”, AltspaceVR tells Road to VR. “We will be rebuilding the calendar of events over the next few weeks. The staff will serve during peak times and certain other select hours to welcome new users, moderate as needed, and help with troubleshooting and technical questions.”
Many users of social virtual reality (VR) app AltspaceVR were deeply saddened and disappointed to hear that the app would be shutting down. Now it seems the app may be getting a stay of execution due in large part to the actions of its community.
In any social-based app or experience, the community is the lifeblood. Since the announcement of the closure of Altspace VR, the community has been mobilising, sharing their memories with each other to ensure the Altspace VR was not forgotten. According to a blog post on the Altspace VR website, many community members reached out to the team at Altspace VR to offer money or expertise, trying to save the app from the brink.
In response, the Altspace VR team have rallied and are now in negotiations with several unnamed parties to try and secure the future of Altspace VR. It is unknown at this point what from the future version of Altspace VR will take, but Courtney from the Altspace VR team said on the blog post: “We feel confident saying to our community that you don’t need to find another place to meet your friends in virtual reality. AltspaceVR is not closing down. We look forward to seeing what you’ll make next in AltspaceVR.”
The news will no doubt cheer the members of the community, which has formed over the years that Altspace VR has been active, being one of the first adopters of modern VR with versions available across Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, Samsung Gear VR and Google Daydream.
VRFocus will continue to bring you news on the future of Altpsace VR, in whatever form it ultimately takes.
Two weeks ago social VR platform AltspaceVR hosted what was supposed to be its final gathering before shutting down. Now, it appears that it won’t be shutting down at all.
AltspaceVR announced its planned closure in late July, noting that the company had been unsuccessful in raising further funds needed to keep the platform going. Yesterday, the developers posted a blog update announcing the app’s apparent revival. In the post, the company states that it is “deep in discussions” with those that “want to guarantee that our virtual oasis stays open,” though no new round of funding was officially announced.
Despite this, the company notes that it feels “confident” in saying the app will not be closing down.
Exactly who is interested in saving the company is unknown. The day after the closure was announced Oculus Rift inventor Palmer Luckey took to Twitter to ask if he should try to save the platform, putting it down to a Twitter poll. Of the 5,493 votes given, 67% voted yes. Luckey also retweeted the news that the company had been saved but did not clarify if he had aided it.
Should I try to save @AltspaceVR? (caveat: may not be possible)
We’ve reached out to AltspaceVR to find out more about the news, and we’ll update this story with any further information.
AltspaceVR did have one group of people to thank; the community. ” You all made this happen by sharing memories, videos, tweets, and emails,” the blog post reads. “So many of you wrote to us asking if they could donate or help. You told the world how much AltspaceVR meant to you and how you had made good memories and lasting friendships. Your messages of encouragement brought us smiles during a pretty gloomy time.”
The app was available across a wide range of VR headsets, from high-end PC devices to mobile kits and was completely free to use. It allowed users to meet up online as customized avatars and talk to each other, attending events or just hanging out. Its closure had raised questions about the future of social VR as a whole, and those questions still remain despite this revival.
[Update] Nach der Rettung ist vor der Rettung: Im Juli gab das soziale Netzwerk bekannt, die Server abzuschalten – Mitte August kam dann die „Rettung“: Man mache weiter. Details dazu gab es aber nicht. Nun verkündet Microsoft die Übernahme von AltspaceVR, womit das längerfristige Überleben der Plattform gesichert sein dürfte.
Originalmeldung:
Die gute VR-Nachricht des Tages beziehungsweise des Monats kommt von AltspaceVR: Nachdem das soziale VR-Netzwerk Ende Juli bekanntgab, dass es seine virtuellen Tore schließen muss, soll es nun weiter gehen. In einem ausführlichen Blogbeitrag und mit einem Video bedanken sich die Entwickler bei den Anwendern für ihre Unterstützung. Die letzten Wochen seien wie eine Achterbahnfahrt gewesen.
AltspaceVR – Rettung des sozialen Netzwerkes
Ende Juli kündigte das soziale Netzwerk an, die Server abzuschalten. Grund waren finanzielle Probleme des für Anwender kostenlosen Service. Am 4. August feierte das Team seine Abschiedsparty. Als Retter in der Not bot sich kurz nach der Nachricht Palmer Luckey an. Der Oculus-Gründer twitterte, ob er AltspaceVR bewahren sollte. Die Antwort war eindeutig, rund zwei Drittel von über 5000 Twitter-Usern stimmten mit Ja. Ob Luckey nun tatsächlich dem Unternehmen eine Finanzspritze gibt, ist noch nicht bekannt. In ihrem Blogpost berichten die Entwickler von AltspaceVR lediglich, dass Gespräche mit Unterstützern sehr weit fortgeschritten seien. Diese würden unbedingt das soziale Netzwerk erhalten wollen. Für die Luckey-Unterstützung spricht, dass er kurz nach Veröffentlichung des Blogpost die gute Nachricht auf Twitter weiterverbreitete.
Einen besonderen Dank sprechen die Entwickler ihren Anwender aus, die so viel in AltspaceVR ermöglicht haben. Als man beschlossen hatte, den Service einzustellen, gab man beispielsweise einigen altgedienten aktiven Mitgliedern besondere Privilegien. Eigentlich waren sie dafür bestimmt, um sich um Trolle im sozialen Netzwerk zu kümmern. Aber das, was die AltspaceVR-Macher dann erlebten, hatte sie nach eigenen Worten zu Tränen gerührt: Die Mitglieder begrüßten die anonym eingeloggten Entwickler, kümmerten sich um sie und zeigten ihnen die App. Sie schützten und förderten die Community. Man darf also gespannt sein, wie sich AltspaceVR jetzt weiterentwickelt. Fest scheint aber zu stehen: Die Party geht weiter.
AltspaceVR ist für die großen VR-Systeme Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, Samsung Gear VR, Google Cardboard und Google Daydream zu haben und steht kostenlos zur Verfügung.
“Thanks to that outpouring of support, we’re now deep in discussions with others who are passionate about AltspaceVR who want to guarantee that our virtual oasis stays open,” the company said in a statement. “AltspaceVR is not closing down.”
One of the people who expressed support was virtual reality pioneer and Oculus founder Palmer Luckey, who Tweeted “Should I try to save @AltspaceVR?” Two-thirds of the responses were “yes.”
“AltspaceVR is going to live on,” said AltspaceVR. “You all made this happen by sharing memories, videos, tweets, and emails. So many of you wrote to us asking if they could donate or help. You told the world how much AltspaceVR meant to you and how you had made good memories and lasting friendships.”
The company posted a video one of its members made in support of the platform:
And a cute take on “Be Our Guest”:
The company did not offer any details about how it was able to come back from the brink, but promised more news to come.
AltspaceVR held its final official Good Bye gathering on Thursday, August 3rd after announcing last week that they had run out of money and their investors decided to not invest any more. News of the social VR platform’s closing rippled throughout the VR community over the past week, and some are wondering if it’s any type of bellwether about the overall health of the VR ecosystem. There have been a number of discussion threads on Oculus subreddit, Vive subreddit, and Twitter that had employees chiming in on imminent plans and the challenges of dealing with trolls and harassment in VR.
LISTEN TO THE VOICES OF VR PODCAST
I dug through my archives of unpublished Voices of VR interviews to pull out a discussion that I had with AltspaceVR’s Amber Roy in March 2016 talking about the platform’s JavaScript SDK that she was working on at the time. She ended up leaving the company in July 2016 to go to work at Oculus on the React VR framework, but this discussion we had before GDC 2016 highlights the technical innovations AltspaceVR made with integrating web technologies within their social spaces. The platform may have been too early with their three.js integrations as WebVR will be finally officially launching on Firefox this August with the release on Chrome hopefully coming later this year.
At the end of this podcast wrap-up, I share some of my reflections and lessons learned from AltspaceVR including if optimizing for both mobile & high-end PC was too limiting, the potential importance of more robust options for identity expressions and world building, the importance of virtual economies being built into large social VR applications, and the challenges around harassment in VR. I also compare and contrast AltspaceVR with other social VR applications including Rec Room, VRChat, High Fidelity, Anyland, BigScreen, JanusVR, Facebook Spaces, Project Sansar, vTime, WebVR, and Decentraland. Amber also talks about her AmberVR YouTube channel where she plays GearVR games, and the importance of promoting mobile VR applications.
AltspaceVR was a pioneer and innovator in the social VR space creating the first bridge between mobile VR and high-end VR, and they published a video of community members sharing their favorite memories within AltspaceVR:
Here’s my previous six Voices of VR interviews with AltspaceVR since May 2014:
Yesterday was the final official day of AltspaceVR. After hosting a big farewell celebration in which hundreds of people logged on to pay their respects, exchange information with friends, and bask in the final moments of time in the virtual world, the servers are slowly phasing out. Eric Romo, CEO and Co-Founder of Altspace has reportedly opted to keep them running a little bit longer and it’s unclear when/if they’re officially dead, but regardless it’s officially in the sun-setting period as a shell of its former self.
AltspaceVR, at least for now, is no more, even if it is still live in a lessened state.
During the final night I logged on one last time and spent time interacting with, listening to, and observing people as they said their goodbyes to friends and talked to former employees about what the future holds. You can watch the highlights in the video embedded above.
In the video a former AltspaceVR employee named Travis (presumably Audio Lead/Sound Designer Travis Fodor) is seen discussing what the application’s closure means for the future of social VR.
“I’m at home in my underwear filing for unemployment,” says Fodor. “I’m not kidding, I don’t know what we’re doing. We fired up a couple of our servers but we are definitely in low-power mode right now. It’s pretty awesome we’ve been able to have a couple hundred people in these events with literally nobody working it at all.”
But even as sad as everyone is, he urges people to stay positive. “The internet was founded on a bunch of failed startups, so Altspace may be going away, or this instance of what is Altspace…but you’ll be seeing us all again soon in pieces I’m sure,” says Fodor. “No worries in the long run. You guys have a really important job to do, I hope you guys go onto these other platforms and continue to build communities. Unless you build communities then investors won’t pay for those companies to keep going. Example A is us. So make sure you keep building communities, keep spreading the word, keep getting your friends to buy headsets, or else this is not going to work and I really do mean that…The last thing you want to do is stop coming and meeting with each other.”
For me personally, AltspaceVR was important. It was one of the first applications I wrote about in the VR scene when I played Dungeons & Dragons in VR and I’ve always had a special fondness for shared virtual spaces like MMOs and social meetup places such as these. I met my wife in an AOL chatroom when we were teenagers over a decade ago and we recently talked about what it would have felt like if AIM had its plug pulled while we were actively talking on a daily basis while using it. Other options became popular eventually like Yahoo Instant Messenger and Skype, but in the moments following a closure, not having a comfortable daily place to visit feels devastating.
Similar to Star Wars: Galaxies, City of Heroes, Asheron’s Call, and countless other large-scale MMOs that are no longer active, when a virtual world like this shuts down it’s different than when an offline world stops getting updates. These spaces aren’t just there as games or as experiences you try and move on from. These are real spaces and worlds that people occupy, exist in, share, and live inside of together. When they go down, entire worlds are erased. You can revisit a classic N64 or PlayStation game, but you can never revisit a virtual world that shuts down.
When you meet someone in Altspace it’s different than meeting them on Twitter, or Reddit, or a forum. You’re hearing their real voice, watching their real mannerisms with head and hand movements. You can feel someone’s shyness, or excitement, or sadness when they talk to you. Watching people share memories and reflect on their time together in Altspace on the final day was heart breaking.
In the video above, Altspace put together a collection of memories from users. “I have actually made friends in Altspace that I’m closer to than I am with friends in real life,” states one user. “Altspace got me into virtual reality itself and opened my mind to a whole new level of communication and community,” says another.
One user you can audibly hear struggle to get the words out. “I…I just…I get choked up thinking I’m not going to be able to just jump in and talk to my friends. [Altspace] was me going out with my friends every night.”
During the final night I even witnessed impromptu chants and protests. For the most part, people seem to be in agreement that migrating the community to VRChat is the way to go.
Even if a new, better, more feature-rich replacement space pops up or evolves over time, AltspaceVR’s importance won’t be forgotten. We all have a tendency to assign significant emotional attachment to places that we associate with strong memories. When I think about my first kiss, I remember exactly where we were and what my (now) wife was wearing. When I think about the first time I played a video game (Super Mario Bros. 3) I vividly remember the room I was in even though I was only two or three years old.
When I think about the first time I hung out with other people in VR, I’ll remember AltspaceVR, as will countless other people.
The VR community has been reeling ever since the news broke last week about the impending end of AltspaceVR, one of the very first online communities focused on virtual reality. Due to financial troubles, the company is shutting down the service at 7PM PT tonight, on August 3rd, 2017. As one last final goodbye for the fans the company has organized a “Farewell Party” that will last for the application’s final two hours from 5PM PT until 7PM PT tonight.
AltspaceVR’s closure marks one of the first shut downs we’ve seen of an online virtual space. It’s also been widely regarded for the past year or so as one of the best and most flexible ways to meet up and interact with people online in virtual reality.
If you’re interested in being around for the program’s final moments then make sure to log on this evening and see it off into the sunset.
What are some of your favorite moments from the past couple of years that AltspaceVR has been around? Did you use it mostly on GearVR and Daydream, or on the Rift, Vive, or something else? Let us know down in the comments below!
AltspaceVR
