Microsoft To Shut Down Social Virtual Reality Platform ‘AltspaceVR’

Microsoft has declared that they’ll shut down their social virtual reality platform AltspaceVR from 10th March, 2023 to focus more on Mesh.

AltspaceVR, an immersive social platform that lets users communicate with friends and coworkers as 3D avatars, will be shut down, according to Microsoft, a US-based technology business. With this, the business appears to have little interest in entering the metaverse.

Microsoft intervened and purchased the platform after AltspaceVR planned to end it in 2017. The site will now be shut down on March 10, 2023, the business has announced.

The IT behemoth declared in a blog post that its attention would move to supporting immersive experiences driven by Microsoft Mesh. 

Through mixed reality apps, Microsoft Mesh is a platform that facilitates presence and shared experiences from any location and on any device.

According to a blog post by Microsoft, “With Mesh, we aspire to establish a platform that gives the most potential to all engaged, including creators, collaborators, and customers.”

The business continued in the blog post, “We are thrilled about what is to come, including the introduction of Microsoft Mesh, a new platform for connectivity and collaboration that will start by empowering workplaces throughout the world.”

The business also announced that, in the near future, it will focus its VR initiatives on workplace experiences, learning from and collaborating with its early clients and partners in the process, and making sure that it provides a platform that supports security, trust, and compliance.

The software juggernaut had already disclosed that it would be letting go of about 10,000 staff members worldwide by the end of March.

The tech behemoth also disclosed that it would offer the sacked employees a comprehensive severance package. 

The official statement states that US-based employees will receive benefits like above-market severance pay, six months of healthcare coverage, six months of stock award vesting, career transition services, and 60 days’ notice before termination, regardless of whether such summons are legally required.