SideQuest plans to relaunch AltspaceVR this fall, bringing Microsoft’s shuttered social-VR platform back as a new service built around the community and design language that defined its 2016–2017 peak.
As reported by Road to VR, SideQuest founder and CEO Shane Harris said the company has acquired the rights to the Altspace name. In a July 29 Reddit announcement, Harris described the project as “a brand new Altspace” and a spiritual successor rather than a restoration of Microsoft’s former service.
AltspaceVR closed on March 10, 2023, after Microsoft announced it would redirect resources toward Microsoft Mesh. Microsoft later retired Mesh’s standalone PC, web, and Quest experiences on December 1, 2025, consolidating its remaining immersive-event work into Teams.
Harris says the first release will bring back much of the functionality associated with AltspaceVR circa 2016–2017. That is a meaningful distinction: the target is a consumer social-VR destination built around events, shared spaces and approachable avatars—not the enterprise collaboration product Microsoft pursued with Mesh.
The SideQuest team has reportedly recruited former Altspace staff and long-time community members to define feature priorities. Christian Boe, who designed Altspace’s original robot avatars, is also involved in the reboot. Harris says the new platform will include updated robot variants, accessories and support for custom avatars.
For former Altspace users, the return of robots is more than cosmetic. Microsoft’s later move toward human-only avatars was one of the clearest signs that the platform had moved away from its early, playful identity.
The hard problem will be creator tools, moderation, recurring events and a sustainable business model. AltspaceVR built a loyal following around live comedy, meetups, education and community gatherings, but it did not develop the creator economy that has helped keep platforms such as VRChat active.
A fall launch window is now the key milestone, with SideQuest promising regular development updates in the months ahead. For Windows PC VR users and Quest owners who preferred Altspace’s more curated social atmosphere, the relaunch could finally provide an alternative to both VRChat’s open-ended ecosystem and Meta’s more platform-controlled social spaces.
As reported by Road to VR, SideQuest founder and CEO Shane Harris said the company has acquired the rights to the Altspace name. In a July 29 Reddit announcement, Harris described the project as “a brand new Altspace” and a spiritual successor rather than a restoration of Microsoft’s former service.
AltspaceVR closed on March 10, 2023, after Microsoft announced it would redirect resources toward Microsoft Mesh. Microsoft later retired Mesh’s standalone PC, web, and Quest experiences on December 1, 2025, consolidating its remaining immersive-event work into Teams.
The reboot is aiming for old Altspace, not Microsoft Mesh
Harris says the first release will bring back much of the functionality associated with AltspaceVR circa 2016–2017. That is a meaningful distinction: the target is a consumer social-VR destination built around events, shared spaces and approachable avatars—not the enterprise collaboration product Microsoft pursued with Mesh.The SideQuest team has reportedly recruited former Altspace staff and long-time community members to define feature priorities. Christian Boe, who designed Altspace’s original robot avatars, is also involved in the reboot. Harris says the new platform will include updated robot variants, accessories and support for custom avatars.
For former Altspace users, the return of robots is more than cosmetic. Microsoft’s later move toward human-only avatars was one of the clearest signs that the platform had moved away from its early, playful identity.
A familiar brand faces a much tougher social-VR market
SideQuest has a direct relationship with the Quest audience through its alternative app library, which gives the Altspace project a plausible distribution and community foothold. But the company is rebuilding an online social platform, not simply shipping an archived application.The hard problem will be creator tools, moderation, recurring events and a sustainable business model. AltspaceVR built a loyal following around live comedy, meetups, education and community gatherings, but it did not develop the creator economy that has helped keep platforms such as VRChat active.
A fall launch window is now the key milestone, with SideQuest promising regular development updates in the months ahead. For Windows PC VR users and Quest owners who preferred Altspace’s more curated social atmosphere, the relaunch could finally provide an alternative to both VRChat’s open-ended ecosystem and Meta’s more platform-controlled social spaces.
References
- Primary source: Road to VR
Published: 2026-07-30T12:08:05+00:00
SideQuest is Reviving Microsoft's Social VR Platform 'Altspace' This Fall | Road to VR
The team behind SideQuest, Quest’s alternative app library, announced it’s bringing Microsoft’s social VR platform AltspaceVR (2015) back from the dead. The News Initially released in 2015 and then acquired by 2017 by Microsoft, Altspace was one of the first successful social...roadtovr.com