AltspaceVR had already announced its closure in 2017, but they were saved by Microsoft . Now it is the giant itself that marks its end.
Microsoft has announced the shutdown of its metaverse virtual reality platform, as it is currently known, called AltspaceVR .
The company points out that the end of this space will take place on March 10, after having saved it from “death” 5 years ago.
Do they get off the metaverse?
AltspaceVR was on the verge of shutting down in 2017, when its founders announced that they did not have enough funds to maintain the servers. Microsoft bought it, but now it seems to have lost faith in the network.
“As we look to the future,” says the Team AltspaceVR post , “we see the opportunity for virtual reality to expand beyond consumer into business and now we have an even bigger goal: a more open, accessible, and secure immersive experiences in the metaverse. To achieve this, we have made the difficult decision to shut down the AltpaceVR platform on March 10, 2023 and shift our focus to support immersive experiences powered by Microsoft Mesh.”
Microsoft Mesh is a mixed reality communication platform that is based on holograms and uses 3D capture to allow people to work together as if they were in the same space. Apparently closer competition to Horizon Worlds, the metaverse created by Meta .
Less entertainment, more work
AltspaceVR offered a virtual reality entertainment platform: hosting club nights with live DJs, book launches, fashion shows, church gatherings, language exchanges, stand-up comedy nights, and lots of parties and get-togethers.
“Over the next few weeks,” the announcement continues, “we encourage the many creators and developers who are part of the AltspaceVR community to host final events and download their content.”
For its part, Mesh is more business-oriented.