Spookality 2024 Winners Announced!
We’ve judged your conjurations and constructions, your apparitions and summoned fiends. After much deliberation (see: being really scared but trying to act really cool and unbothered) we’re ready to announce the Spookality 2024 winners.
Also… we’re exhausted! This year we saw more entries than ever before. Even if you didn’t win, we’re so excited (and honestly, a little terrified) by just how much enthusiasm there was this year.
With that said – no more delays! Let’s get right into the winners.
(And as a note – you can also see all the winners on the official VRChat wiki!)
Avatar Winners
First up: Avatars!
As a reminder, the top ten winners in this category will receive one year of VRChat+ and a spooky glow-in-the-dark VRCat enamel pin set. Additionally, the top 25 avatars will be featured in an “Avatar Picker” in the Default Home world. As a note, it won’t be by the usual mirror, but by the Size Adjustment area!
The winners:
Mr․ Muffin by HTDuy
Ghost Fish by neiryl
Dr Whaddastein's Overgrown Neptunian Flesh-Eaterǃ by Whaddageek
World Winners
This year, we had TWO world categories. First up is the Fractured Realm category, where creators had to conjure a world where one player has different goals and abilities from the others. In this category, the top ten entities receive one year of VRChat+ and a spooky glow-in-the-dark VRCat enamel pin set.
The top ten worlds will be featured in a special room in the default Home World. Originally, we were going to feature 25 worlds – but there were some duplicates across both categories, so we limited it to ten.
The winners:
The second world category was the Spookality Showcase. This had a simple theme: just make it spooky! For this category, the top 25 worlds will be featured in a special Main Menu category. As there are a lot of them, we’re not listing them here – you’ll have to go into VRChat to see them!
Welcome to Spooky Season!
The winners above will have their content featured from October 21 to November 4. We strongly encourage you to check ‘em all out during that time – if you’re brave enough, that is. As a note to the winners, we’ll be emailing you shortly on the email address associated with your account to make sure you receive your Spookality pins!
Once again, a big thank you to everyone who entered into Spookality. We’ll see you next year!
For press or media inquiries, please contact press@vrchat.com
We’re hiring! Check out open positions on our site
Spookality 2024 Arrives October 1!
Amid twisting doorways, a dungeon maze,
VRRat hovers in a bubbling haze.
In his paws, a flask of green,
He whispers softly, "October 14th..."
The liquid stirs, begins to rise!
“It’s ALIVE!” he cheers with sparkling eyes.
The ritual complete, the spell is cast—
It’s VRCat! But green, with a skeleton mask.
Spookality, our annual Halloween-themed jam, returns!
Every year, Spookality allows us to highlight some of the most talented creators in VRChat. From October 1st to October 14th, you can submit your avatars and worlds for consideration.
We will pick the winners on October 14! The best worlds will be featured in VRChat’s main menu, and the best avatars will be in the default VRChat home world.
The theme of our last jam, “Summer Music Fest,” was very broad. You gave us feedback that you wanted something a little more special: Only people who submit entries related to the theme can win prizes. We like this idea, so let’s try it this year!
We also heard that you’d like to be able to split the digital prizes with your collaborators. This is now also possible for up to four collaborators! So, if you have a team of three and you would like to split the one year of VRC+, you would get four months each. For the pins, however, we can only send to one person. I don’t think you want us to chop up poor little VRCat!
Please make sure your email associated with your VRChat account is up to date! We will be reaching out to you through your email to coordinate physical merch prizes this year.
Before submitting, please take some time to review our Official Contest rules as well as our Terms of Service and Community Guidelines. The submitter must also have the rights to use the content submitted (including all component parts and any referenced intellectual properties).
Any content violating the above rules won’t be selected!
Additionally, all content submitted must make use of VRChat SDK3 to be qualified for submission. Worlds must use VRCSDK3 for worlds and avatars must use VRCSDK3 for avatars. While the use of more advanced features within the SDK (such as Avatar Dynamics) is recommended, it is not required!
Your content must have been uploaded after submissions have opened (October 1st).
“But what’s the theme?” you may ask.
In Spookality 2024, there are three categories: one for avatars, and two for worlds.
Prizes? For meeeee?
That’s right, we’ve got prizes. Each category of submission, assuming you work with one of our themes, has several prizes available! Check each category to see what you’re eligible for.
This Spookality, we’re offering a few prizes! In addition to the Annual VRChat Plus subscriptions, we collaborated with Makeship on a brand new glow-in-the-dark spooky VRCat enamel pin set! Turns out you probably shouldn’t let VRRat into the chemical cabinet. That guy is a menace.
Avatars - This is My Final Form!
Theme: Create an avatar that makes use of Avatar Scaling Parameters to change its appearance or functionality at larger and small sizes. Check that link for documentation on what parameters to use!
Maybe an avatar that’s cute when it’s small, but scary when it’s bigger? Or the other way around?
Winners & Prizes:
1 year of VRC+ and 1 Spookality pin set awarded for each of the Top 10 avatars
Top 25 avatars featured in an “Avatar Picker” in the Default Home world.
Judging Criteria:
Performance is Medium or better on both PC and Android
Content MUST be Cross-Platform (PC & Android)
Theme: Spooky
Theme: Creative use of scaling (both big and small)
Overall aesthetics
Extra Features - toggles customization, etc.
Adherence to our Official Contest rules, Terms of Service, and Community Guidelines
The Spookality pins are a set of enamel pins made in collaboration with Makeship: one “VRChat”-themed and one “Spookality VRCat”-themed. The user who submits the winning Spookality entry will coordinate the shipping of the pin through their registered VRChat email.
Worlds - Fractured Realm
Theme: Create a spooky world where one player has a different goal and abilities from the others.
Maybe you’re a ghost, trapped in a mansion with other players? Or maybe you’re a devious dungeon master, placing treasures and traps? Perhaps you’re the big scary boss monster, and all the little guys have to find ways to defeat you.
We’ve released a special Open Beta SDK to help with this category - VRChat Worlds SDK 3.7.2 includes a heaping handful of helpful items. You don’t need this SDK to submit for this category, but it’ll help. You can install Beta SDKs through the VRChat Creator Companion.
Example Central is the new source for examples, making it easy to find and import official VRChat World and Avatar Examples. It has three new examples made specifically for this theme:
Player Join Zones - Collect players based on their position and handle basic lobby functionality, enabling users to join a game, play it, see results, then start a new game. It can be used to build opt-in experiences, like a game played by only some of the players in the instance. It also shows how to randomly choose a player to make larger, and extend the prefab’s logic with additional modes.
Screen Canvas - Create a Screen-Space UI Canvas for users on 2D screens like Mobile and non-VR Desktop. It also demonstrates how to teleport the user to a destination position and rotation.
Mute Others - Mute and unmute other Players, handy if you want some players to be able to plan in secret, or to create a no-talking-allowed experience.
Build & Test for Mobile enables you to quickly test and iterate on the Android Mobile version of your world like you can do for the Windows version of your world. Use your compatible Android device to test a world without publishing it.
Winners & Prizes:
1 year of VRC+ and 1 Spookality pin set awarded for each of the Top 10 worlds
Top 10 worlds featured in a special room in the default Home World
Top 25 worlds featured in VRChat’s main menu in a special category
Judging Criteria:
Content MUST be Cross-Platform (PC & Android)
Mobile-Friendliness
The world should be fully usable on Mobile - text is readable on small screens and 3D navigation & locomotion are minimal.
Check out our Mobile Best Practices doc.
Performance
Inclusion of Theme - Spookiness
Inclusion of Theme - Asymmetry
Ease of Use
Adherence to our Official Contest rules, Terms of Service, and Community Guidelines
Judges’ Note: Make it clear what to do in the world. Players and judges may only spend a few minutes in your world. They should be able to ‘get to the fun’ within 2 minutes of joining.
The Spookality pins are a set of enamel pins made in collaboration with Makeship: one “VRChat”-themed and one “Spookality VRCat”-themed. The user who submits the winning Spookality entry will coordinate the shipping of the pin through their registered VRChat email.
Worlds - Spookality Showcase
Theme: Make a spooky world! That’s it. Boo! AUGH — sorry, I’m easily surprised.
Maybe a chill hangout world that’s Halloween-themed? Or something that doesn’t fit in with the “Fractured Realm” category?
In previous Spookality events, we’ve seen people submit Spookality-themed content that are updates of their current content, special editions of their worlds, or just Spookality-themed general experiences and hangouts. We love these! We love them so much that we made a category just for you.
Winners & Prizes:
Top 25 worlds featured in VRChat’s main menu in a special category
Judging Guidelines
Overall Experience
Inclusion of Seasonal Halloween Theme
Performance
Ease of Use
Adherence to our Official Contest rules, Terms of Service, and Community Guidelines
How do I Submit to Spookality?
With all of that out of the way, how do you actually submit your avatar or world?
Like always, you may submit your worlds and avatars via our own Jam portal on the VRChat website! You can access that by logging into the VRChat website and clicking on the “Jam” button right under your profile picture (it’s big and purple, so you can’t miss it!). Or, you can just click here! The Jam submission section will open on October 1st.
Submissions open up October 1st at 12AM PDT and will close on October 14th at 12AM PDT. Make sure you get yours in before submissions close!
When will People See my Stuff?
We’ll be featuring winners from October 21st to November 4th.
During that time, the top 10 Fractured Realm worlds and top 25 avatars will be visible in the default VRChat home world.
There will be 50 worlds altogether featured in two unique world rows (one for Fractured Realms and one for the general Spookality category) on VRChat as well.
VRRat - Pull the Lever!
Creators! You have a week to prepare your spooky creations before submissions open.
Want to share your work in progress on social media? Tag us with #Spookality2024 and we might share our favorites!
Good luck – we’re excited to see what you come up with.
VRRat, pull the lever! Let’s get started on October 1st.
Summer Music Festival Jam Winners Announced
The grill is hot, the sands are hot, and – most important of all – your worlds and avatars are hot.
Your Summer Music Festival Jam winners are here! As always, we’re blown away by the skill of our creative community, who have brought out their absolute best to celebrate summer vibes.
As a reminder, the Summer Music Festival Jam was open to world and avatar creators, encouraging both to create content that was season-appropriate, full of vibes, and accessible to our entire community. If you’d like to see the full details, you can check out the original blog post here!
Enough stalling – let’s get into the winners!
World Selections
Worlds were judged based on a few categories:
Summer Vibe-iness
Media Player Integration
Performance Level
Ease of Use
Given that, here are our selections:
Winners:
French Oasis Festival by FrankkDarko
Dawn Island by Bia_Kawaii_Br
VAPORWAVE BEACH by neptunezz
Hidden Beach by AliceD
Summer Drum Reflection by bironist
Joken's Oasis Haven by Skuld
Royal White Inn by Marino
Elite's Paradise Party by Eliteiment
Lazy Lizard Water Park by DekaWolf
Starboard Summer by Vectriel
Runners-Up:
Pool Party Raveǃ˸ Blue Mesiméri by okgold
Polygon Island by Hadean
Resort in Bali by M3LL4
Glowing palms by Carbonexx
Sunset Drifters by Eldarath
ケセドの海の夏フェス-CHESED's Seaside Summer Fest- by ケセドCHESED
BeatBox Beach Music Venue by LittleAO
Neuron by Juice․․․
Lumina by _Froggi
You’ll be able to visit all of the winners *and* runners-up via the Summer Music Festival world row, which is live now! Also, all of the winners’ worlds will be featured in the new home world.
Avatar Selections
Avatars were judged based on a few categories:
Summer Vibe-iness
Audiolink Integration
Performance Rank
Extra Features
Given that, here are our selections:
Winners:
Asteria by Raujinn
Clio & Herb by blueasis
Afterlife Guard by MR_em
Sunny 2.0 by Sinrith
Bubba Clubbins by Cramble
Samy the Deep Sea Mermaid by GabSith
Beach Ball Boy by Chimyreal
Nana the Clownfish by ChiliCharm
Neri by Graelyth
Sundae the Ice Creamancer by Nae the Loud
Runners-Up:
Selena the Orca by HTDuy
Cherry by SilverCherry
Twin-Pop! by -Darian-
Tia the Dragonfly by GothicOctopus
All of the winners will be added to the public avatar row! Likewise, the winners and the Runners-Up will be featured in the new home world.
In addition to being featured in the world row/new home world, all winners will also receive a year a VRC+!
One More Thing!
What’s a bunch of party worlds without a party?
We’ll be hosting a music event in one of the winning worlds featuring DJs from the VRChat dev team! You can catch the event on August 26 from 5PM PDT/8PM EDT to 8:45PM PDT/11:45PM EDT! To get into the event, you’ll have to join the Ministry group. Big thanks to them for helping us host this event!
(You’ll also be able to find it on vrc.tl – which, by the way, is an incredible resource for seeing what events are going on in VRChat on any given day!)
Thanks for Participating in Our First Summer Jam!
A big thank you to all participants for ALL of your entries! We were seriously blown away by the community's creativity, especially given that this was a completely new style of Jam!
…as far as what’s next, we hear something spooky is on the menu. 👀
See you soon!
For press or media inquiries, please contact press@vrchat.com
We’re hiring! Check out open positions on our site
In Memoriam: Gold
It is with a heavy heart that I write this post today. Gold, a member of the VRChat team, community member, and friend of many, passed away recently due to natural causes. This was a shock to all of us, and our hearts go out to Gold’s family and friends during this difficult time.
It is with a heavy heart that I write this post today. Gold, a member of the VRChat team, community member, and friend of many, passed away recently due to natural causes. This was a shock to all of us, and our hearts go out to Gold’s family and friends during this difficult time.
Gold had a profound impact on the team, not only in his work but also in his attitude and positivity. I recall that during his interview process, he demonstrated a natural understanding of some of our core values and tenets at VRChat: providing a space where people could be their authentic selves without judgment or fear. He carried that mindset forward in everything he did.
He was incredibly kind and understanding of everyone he interacted with and assumed the best in all people. His empathy and genuine care for others created a positive atmosphere within the team and community.
Amid his busy work life, Gold made time for his passions. He loved exploring new virtual worlds, meeting new people, and embracing the limitless possibilities that VRChat offered. His enthusiasm, kindness, and adventurous spirit were genuinely inspiring.
Gold was a great friend to me and always wanted to hear and listen when I brought up any of my interests. He made me feel like I really had a voice that was heard within VRC and that I didn't need to be quiet or someone I wasn't. He was the first one to reach out to me when I first joined VRC and messaged me just to introduce himself and welcome me to the company. He was the first friend I made here and he helped me settle in, helping me and letting me ask questions even though he wasn't my onboarding buddy. Every conversation that Gold and I had was positive, even in times like when I was sick and nervous, he reassured me that I would be okay and made silly jokes to lighten the mood. I had the pleasure of working the same days as him, and was always looking forward to seeing him pop up in the chat when his shift started. Gold has such a down to earth and lovely soul that makes anyone feel comfortable and safe.
Gold was typically more quiet and contemplative than most, but was also one of the easiest people to talk to with his warm-hearted and welcoming nature. He was an easy-going soul and was one of the hardest-working individuals I've had the pleasure of knowing; always willing to lend a hand where needed. Gold was the type of person everyone would be honored to call a co-worker, and more importantly, a friend. He was a special human being, and will be sorely missed.
Gold joined the team in August of 2022. A refugee of big tech at LinkedIn, he brought an abundance of talent and skills with him. Unwaveringly kind to everyone, it was rare to not hear a friendly greeting in the morning, or an uplifting comment when people seemed to need it most.
But like any of us, he was so much more than his job. A kind person who enjoyed hanging out with friends in game worlds, watching shows, or really anything where people just spent time together. There was a time about two months ago when a passing crow flew into his backdoor window and had a bit of a ‘cartoon stars over the head’ nap in the yard. Gold went out to help it, made sure it was okay, and ultimately set it loose again with it's nearby crow family. Every day after that, if they were around, they'd caw at him when he came outside, like a weird bird greeting. He started leaving shinies out for them to collect from time to time, basically befriending an entire crow family at once.
Gold believed in the service, not just as a business but as a social lifeline for so many people around the world. Once he described the VRC experience as, “After weeding out the 'Do you wanna join my cult' people, we do find some really great friends on here.” For how many of us have met long-term friends, new family, partners, or anything in between, he certainly nailed the soul of our community. Gold would often talk about how important those social connections are for people, and how proud he was to be a part of, and to help preserve, something so widely helpful to so many people.
We've lost a brother, a kindred soul, one whose shoes could never be filled by anyone else. Rest easy, Gold - we'll keep the light on for you.
In honor of Gold, we have placed a golden flower vase in the VRChat Home. This vase serves as a symbol of his enduring presence and the warmth he brought to our community. We invite you to visit this memorial and reflect on the cherished memories and lasting impact Gold has left behind.
Gold's legacy will live on in the countless lives he touched. His kindness, empathy, and dedication to fostering a supportive community will always be remembered. While we mourn his loss, we also celebrate the incredible person he was and the positive impact he had on all of us.
— Tupper, Head of Community
The Summer Music Fest Jam Starts Now!
Beach vibes, a cookin’ sun, and the smell of barbeque – it’s summer, baby, and it’s time to Jam!
That’s right – we’re hosting our first-ever Summer Music Fest Jam! Think of it as a VRChat beach episode, but with more bangers. This Jam will have a few parts. We’ll go into more detail below, but here’s the general idea:
A World & Avatar Jam!
A bunch of events (hosted by you!) utilizing the new worlds
Promotion (from us!) for as many of the events using said worlds as possible.
In addition, there’s a chance we might throw our own event on your map!
So, with that out of the way, what are the details?
First: let’s talk about some important dates.
Jam submissions open July 8, and will remain open until August 2. The submissions will be judged, and the winners will be featured starting August 12 until September 6. During this period, we’ll be looking for events to promote that utilize the maps in question.
What sort of worlds are we looking for?
In short, we are looking for mobile-friendly worlds that have a beach or summer theme. They must support a music player/video streams and (given the mobile-friendly component) be cross-platform compatible.
Worlds will be judged based on a few categories:
Summer Vibe-iness
Media Player Integration
Performance Level
Ease of Use
Some extra, important world requirements:
When submitting the world, you must accurately describe any third-party assets that you used.
You may link storefronts such as Booth, Gumroad, etc in the world description and image. However, these storefronts must be 'SFW' and cannot contain any 18+ content.
The world submitted should be an original world.
If the world submitted is derived from some other content, the original license must permit modification, redistribution, and use in a commercial application. You must provide a link to the original content, including its license.
What sort of avatars are we looking for?
As is the case with worlds, we’re looking for avatars that emphasize, “summer vibes at the beach,” whatever that happens to mean to you. Your avatar has to be ranked Medium or better, should include AudioLink reactivity on PC, and be cross-platform compatible.
It will be judged on the following categories:
Summer Vibe-iness
AudioLink Integration
Performance Rank
Extra Features
Some extra, important avatar requirements:
The submitted avatar should be around 152cm (~5'0") to 180cm (~6'0").
The avatar must have both a PC and Quest version.
The avatar must be built with Avatars SDK 3.0.
The avatar must abide by the Terms of Service.
When submitting the avatar, you must accurately describe any third-party assets that you used.
You may link storefronts such as Booth, Gumroad, etc in the avatar description and image. However, these storefronts must be 'SFW' and cannot contain any 18+ content.
The avatar submitted should be an original avatar.
If the avatar submitted is derived from some other content, the original license must permit modification, redistribution, and use in a commercial application. You must provide a link to the original content, including its license.
What else should creators know?
We strongly suggest checking out our list of Jam Resources here on the forums. Likewise, as is always, all Jam entries should be submitted through our Jam portal, found here!
Are there any prizes?
Yes!
We’ll choose 10 world and 10 avatar winners, who will receive VRC+ free for a year and a public avatar row feature.
What about event runners?
If you run an event using any of the winning Summer Jam worlds, we’ll do our best to promote it for you! While we can’t guarantee that we’ll promote every event, we’re going to be doing our best to highlight as many as we can.
We’ll be highlighting events in numerous ways, likely through both social and through an in-game article highlighting a schedule of events as they’re going on.
…hey, what about that last part – are you going to host an event on my map?
That part is under wraps for now. Stay tuned!
Barbeque’s waiting – get out there and start cookin’!
Once again, Jam entries are open from July 8, and will remain open until August 2! That’s for both worlds and avatars. As usual with Jams, you can submit your entries here.
For further updates, check our social accounts!
For press or media inquiries, please contact press@vrchat.com
We’re hiring! Check out open positions on our site
European Pricing Update for VRChat Plus/Credits
Certain European VRChat users will notice a slight pricing change to both VRChat Plus and VRChat Credits. This is due to VAT being factored into prices for countries that require “inclusive VAT.”
This means that, if you are in a country that requires inclusive VAT and have a recurring VRChat Plus subscription, you might notice an increase in the amount you are paying for VRChat Plus.
Users who have a VRChat Plus subscription through the Meta Quest Store will not be affected at this time. However, users purchasing VRChat Credits through the Meta Quest Store will have VAT factored into their purchase.
If there are any additional pricing adjustments, they will be announced via Discord, however we do not expect any others at this time.
For press or media inquiries, please contact press@vrchat.com
We’re hiring! Check out open positions on our site
Apple iOS Beta Signups Are Now Active
We’re ready to announce that we’re now accepting beta testers for the VRChat iOS Closed Beta! We’ve been cooking this one up for quite some time, as we first hinted at when we announced that we were beginning the Android Alpha last year.
The Closed Beta for iOS will work a little differently than the Android version, however.
We will be opening up an application for iOS beta testers. You can access this form via the VRChat website. Simply sign into your account, and you should see this banner at the top:
Once you click through, you should see a form that looks like this:
If you have one of those devices, and want to participate, fill it out and click Submit!
When we’re ready, we’ll invite folks in, continuing to invite more and more testers as we feel comfortable doing so.
We’ll be accepting applications for testers for about three weeks. From there, we’ll evaluate if we want to bring more people into the test.
So, who makes a good tester?
Right now, we’re looking for existing VRChat users who own devices that run iOS (see the application for specific devices we’re looking for, and please note that they might change over time). We’re also looking for people that aren’t expecting a flawless experience. This is a test, and we’re looking for users that will be okay with a bit of instability, and who will be willing to provide us with feedback on what they like and dislike.
You can also find additional questions answered below!
Q: How long will the Closed Beta run?
A: Currently, there is no fixed timeline. Our goal is to release a polished, stable product that we’re happy with. We want users (both old and new) to have something they love using. Until that happens, we likely won’t move to the next phase!
Q: Will there be an Open Beta?
A: There could be a very limited Open Beta once we’re happy with how things are going, but at this time, nothing is planned.
Q: What sort of iOS device do you need to run the beta?
A: Right now, we’re targeting iOS devices with 6 GB+ of RAM. However, that does not mean we won’t include users that own other devices for testing purposes in the future.
Q: What content is visible?
A: That’s complicated! We have a few tricks up our sleeve for bringing over Android content for iOS – but right now, everything is in a very early test phase. It’s safe to say that the iOS experience will be different than that of other platforms, but to what extent is still very much up in the air. We’re hopeful that things will be pretty similar, though. Testing will help us figure things out!
Q: Will the iOS app be similar to the Android app?
A: Generally, yes. There are some small differences, but overall it should be a similar mobile VRChat experience.
We’re so excited to start testing VRChat on iOS!
Please keep your eyes on our social accounts for more announcements – and if you sign up for the beta, keep an eye on your email account for updates about your participation in the program.
As usual, thanks so much for loving VRChat as much as we do. See you in the beta!
For press or media inquiries, please contact press@vrchat.com
We’re hiring! Check out open positions on our site
Space Jam Winners
…and lift off! It’s time to announce the winners of Space Jam!
Space Jam was a pioneering virtual reality competition inspired by the ambitious Artemis missions aimed at returning humans to the moon and establishing a sustainable presence there.
Guided by the vision of the National Space Society of Australia (NSSA) — "People living and working in thriving communities beyond the Earth, and the use of the vast resources of space for the dramatic betterment of humanity" — this challenge invited creators to explore the frontiers of lunar exploration through immersive VR experiences.
As a reminder, here are the prizes for the winners:
1st Place: $4,000 AUD
2nd Place: $2,500 AUD
3rd Place: $1,500 AUD
In addition, we’ll be showcasing the top 12 worlds in a special world row in VRChat – so go check them all out!
Without further ado, however, here are the winners!
Third Place: Generations - Project RAMA by AltCentauri
You can view this world here.
Second Place: Far Citizen ˸ Elite Mining by ｜KitKat｜, Sournetic, REaSoN2DiE4
You can view this world here.
First Place: Scarlet Monarch MKII by Tajasuka, Garret2727, Niko*
You can view this world here.
Congratulations to the winners and all the entrants! Make sure you go check out all of the top selections in the world row!
For press or media inquiries, please contact press@vrchat.com
We’re hiring! Check out open positions on our site
Come on and Join the Space Jam!
Space Jam is a pioneering virtual reality competition inspired by the ambitious Artemis missions aimed at returning humans to the moon and establishing a sustainable presence there.
Guided by the vision of the National Space Society of Australia (NSSA) — "People living and working in thriving communities beyond the Earth, and the use of the vast resources of space for the dramatic betterment of humanity" — this challenge invites creators to explore the frontiers of lunar exploration through immersive VR experiences.
In partnership with VRChat and the NSSA, Space Jam is your opportunity to contribute to a future where the moon and beyond are not just destinations, but homes for human creativity and spirit.
Join us in Space Jam to capture the spirit of these monumental efforts in your VR creations. Whether it's designing habitats that could sustain life on the moon, simulating the challenges and triumphs of lunar exploration, or imagining the daily life and work of future lunar inhabitants, your vision can help shape the narrative of humanity's next giant leap.
What Do I Make?
Your challenge is to create a VR experience that pushes the boundaries of virtual reality to depict the future of human life and work in space. Whether it's designing habitats on the moon, simulating the experience of living in an O'Neill Cylinder, or showcasing life on Mars, your creation should inspire and educate about the possibilities of space exploration and habitation. How will you envision humanity's future beyond Earth?
Prizes
To celebrate the innovation and creativity of participants, Space Jam offers prizes, sponsored by the National Space Society of Australia (NSSA):
1st Place: $4,000 AUD
2nd Place: $2,500 AUD
3rd Place: $1,500 AUD
Winners will also have the exclusive opportunity to showcase their VR worlds at the New Horizons Summit, exposing their visionary creations to industry professionals, corporate partners, and enthusiasts.
Submissions are now open until April 5 at 11:59pm EST/8:59pm PDT!
Please review the Jam Form found here for submitting your entry, judging criteria, full timeline, & more!
Good luck – we can’t wait to see what you come up with!
For press or media inquiries, please contact press@vrchat.com
We’re hiring! Check out open positions on our site
Paid Subscriptions: Now in Open Beta!
From awe-inspiring avatars to mesmerizing worlds, the ingenuity of our creators — streamers, roleplayers, musicians, dancers, and more — has always been the heartbeat of VRChat. But what if this creativity could fuel not just passion, but livelihoods too?
With Paid Subscriptions, that’s no longer a “what-if.”
Over the last few years, we’ve talked about introducing something we’ve called the “Creator Economy,” and we’re finally ready to reveal what the first step of that effort is going to look like: Paid Subscriptions!
As it stands now, creators within VRChat have to jump through a series of complicated, frustrating hoops if they want to make money from their creations. For creators, this means having to set up a veritable Rube Goldberg machine, often requiring multiple external platforms and a lot of jank. For supporters, it means having to sign up for those same platforms… and then hope that the creator you’re trying to support set everything up correctly.
The end result is a mess. So we’ve built something better.
Introducing Paid Subscriptions: The First Phase of VRChat’s Creator Economy
Paid Subscriptions allow everyone in VRChat to directly support the creators they love with dramatically less friction. At the same time, Paid Subscriptions also empower creators to build far more interesting creations with their supporters in mind.
Creators can now easily create VIP rooms in their instances that only their subscribers can access. Or maybe they could have a special car or jet that is only available if you’re a supporter. Or maybe supporters get a special icon above their head in their instances. Or, for event runners, priority or exclusive access to your events!
How Do Paid Subscriptions Work?
All VRChat players can now purchase VRChat Credits with real-life money.
You can spend these on certain perks that creators set via Groups. Generally, you’ll go to a creator’s Group page, click the “Store” button, and then be presented with a list of things you can purchase.
These individual perks are known as Paid Subscriptions! You can purchase one for a certain amount of time: say a month, three months, a year. These are currently not recurring – but will be in the future!
Paid Subscriptions work directly with Udon, allowing creators an almost unlimited amount of freedom to build perks for their supporters.
What’s the Revenue Split?
From the start, our goal has been to maximize benefits for our creators. Here's the breakdown:
50 percent goes directly to creators. 30 percent goes to the platform (Steam, Meta, Google, etc), and the remaining 20% goes to VRChat and our partners.
(As a note, these numbers are approximate!)
How Do I Get Access?
First, open beta starts today – you can go check it out now! Initially, buying options are open to everyone, but selling is limited.
This will be the case when Paid Subscriptions come out of open beta, too. Don't worry – we'll be gradually expanding access over time! We're taking it step by step to ensure everything runs smoothly, but soon, everyone can join in as a seller.
As a heads up, we’re expecting the open beta to last about two weeks!
What’s the Future Look Like?
Paid Subscriptions are just the beginning. They're our first step in a long-term plan to revolutionize how creators are supported. As we stated at the beginning of this post, VRChat has a ton of creators! We’ve got a lot of exciting plans for how best to support all of them, although we aren’t quite ready to share more just yet.
We will be sharing more on January 18th, however – you can expect a Developer Update to be released then where we’ll discuss some of the cool things coming next for the Creator Economy!
A Thanks to Our Community
We're beyond excited to see the creative wonders you'll unleash with these new tools. Stay tuned for more updates, and as always, thank you for loving VRChat as much as we do.
We’ll see you next time!
For press or media inquiries, please contact press@vrchat.com
We’re hiring! Check out open positions on our site
Introducing Content Gating
One of the core values of VRChat is empowering users to express themselves. That has led to our platform becoming a vibrant hub of creativity. It’s something we’re very proud of!
However, when you allow hundreds of thousands of people to build all manner of avatars and worlds, sometimes they’re going to create things that others might prefer not to see. Likewise, there’s a chance that the things they create might not be appropriate for everyone.
In order to help people fine-tune their VRChat experience, as well as keeping younger players safe, we’re going to be introducing a new system: Content Gating.
Starting with VRChat 2023.3.3, creators must appropriately label their content via the VRChat SDK or the website. In a release soon after, players will be able to filter the content they see in VRChat based on those labels. If a player is under 18, the content filter is enabled and cannot be turned off.
Let’s get into how the system will work.
How Content Warnings Work
When you upload content to VRChat – either avatars or worlds – you will be asked if what you’re uploading fits into or contains any of the following Content Warning labels:
Sexually suggestive
Adult language and themes
Graphic violence
Excessive gore
Extreme horror
You can apply these labels at upload time in the SDK, or you can apply them on the VRChat Home website. If you want more details on these labels, check out our updated Creator Guidelines.
Applying these labels doesn’t permit you to break any rules, and none of our rules have changed. The rules are the same, but now you can warn people that your world contains things closer to the line than usual.
Accurately labeling your uploads with appropriate Content Warnings is important. If you’ve used the old labels, we’ve migrated those over. If you didn’t label that older content, that’s okay, you’ve got some time. However, if you upload new content and consistently fail to label it appropriately, you may be subject to moderation action.
How Content is Filtered Inside VRChat
How this system impacts users will largely depend on their age – determined by what birthday they used when registering their account. If they are under 18, Content Gating for all labels will be turned on and cannot be turned off.
For users over 18, Content Gating will be off by default. However, if you’d prefer not to see certain types of content, you can toggle each label on or off individually.
Avatars that are blocked by Content Gating will be replaced with the default VRChat robot. Likewise, worlds that are blocked by Content Gating will be hidden from search and menus, and you will not be able to enter them.
If someone invites you to a world that is blocked by your Content Gating settings, you’ll receive a notice, and will be unable to join their instance.
Finally, if you encounter content that isn’t properly labeled, you’ll be able to report it. We’ll use that information to correct and apply labels where appropriate.
Content Gating Timeline
We’ll be rolling out this system in stages.
Starting with VRChat 2023.3.3, users can add Content Warnings to their content. In a later release (we’re aiming for Q4 2023), we’ll roll out the filtering system to the VRChat client, enabling users to choose what content they’d prefer not to see within the app.
Creators, please label your previously uploaded content through the VRChat website! Doing so will guarantee a much better experience for all VRChat users, and we’ve tried to make it as easy as possible for creators to do.
Eventually, we would like to roll this system out to more things within VRChat – not just avatars and worlds. That’s a discussion for another day, though!
Wrapping Things Up
Content Gating will make the VRChat experience better for everyone. This feature will ultimately give users a lot more control over the sort of content they interact with in VRChat. It’s a win for everyone – people get a more curated experience, and creators enjoy unchanged creative freedom.
Take “extreme horror,” for example – as we approach Spookality, some folks might want something gorey and in-your-face that makes their pulse race, but others might just want a lighter scare.
As always, for continued updates on this system or any other, we strongly suggest checking out our bi-weekly Developer Update post, which you can find on our Ask forums.
Thanks for reading, and thank you for labeling your content!
For press or media inquiries, please contact press@vrchat.com
We’re hiring! Check out open positions on our site
Spookality 2023 is Coming Soon!
A thick fog rises, choking out the moon’s light. In the distance, you swear you can hear hounds baying into the night. Without warning, an acrid smell fills your nostrils and you’re besieged by countless whispers, echoing in your skull.
The words buzz around your ears like flies, but you can’t make out what’s being said. Your skin tingles, bristling against the chill. Against your best judgment, you close your eyes, trying to listen to the message being sent to you.
Yo, whaddup – cool hat you got there. Oh, also Spookality 2023 is here!
Our annual Halloween-themed seasonal jam is back!
Every year, Spookality allows us to highlight some of the most talented creators in VRChat. From September 25th to October 17th, users will be able to submit their most unsettling avatars and bizarre worlds for consideration.
On October 20th, our crack team of occultists, ghost hunters, stabologists, and, uh, Steve, will pick our favorites. We will feature the best submissions in a temporary Spookality World Row and a special Avatar Pedestal which will be added to the VRChat Home World.
How Do I Submit My Creation for Spookality?
First: before you get started on your project, please take some time to review our Terms of Service & Community Guidelines. All submissions must consist entirely of original assets and the submitter must own or otherwise have the right to use the content submitted (including all component parts).
Any content violating the above rules won’t be selected, so read ‘em carefully!
Additionally, all content submitted must make use of VRChat SDK3 to be qualified for submission. Worlds must use VRCSDK3 for Worlds and Avatars must use VRCSDK3 for Avatars. While the use of more advanced features within the SDK (such as Avatar Dynamics) is recommended, it is not required!
It’s also not required for your content to be cross-platform compatible, but content that is will have a higher chance of being featured.
Your content must have been updated after submissions have opened (September 25th). You're welcome to dig up an older avatar or world and fix it up for this year's Spookality – just publish the new changes after this date and it will be accepted for consideration.
With that out of the way, though, how do you actually submit your world or avatar?
This year, we’re having creators submit their worlds and avatars via our own Jam portal on the VRChat website! You can access that by logging into the VRChat website and clicking on the “Jam” button right under your profile picture (it’s big and purple, so you can’t miss it!). Or, you can just click here!
Submissions open up September 25th at 12PM PT and will close on October 17th. Make sure you get yours in before submissions close!
When Will People See My Stuff?
We want to ensure that all of our adventurous demon-hunting users seeking deliverance and/or damnation have enough time to properly examine whatever oddities they find in the wild. What that means is that we’ll be keeping submissions up from October 20th to November 11th.
During that time, selected worlds and avatars will be visible in the default VRChat Home World. Likewise, worlds will be put into their own Spookality Row – so you won’t be able to miss ‘em.
What Kinda Stuff Should I Make? Will There Be Feedback?
This year, there’s no precise theme – just general spookiness is fine! What that means in particular is totally up to you.
As there is no general theme this year, there’s also no scoring or feedback. We’re just looking to celebrate spooky stuff and highlight the best stuff we see!
Prepare the Ritual!
Creators, it’s time to start prepping your machinations!
Excited about what you’re working on? Tweet at us and use the hashtag #Spookality2023 – if we’re sufficiently creeped out/haunted/[REDACTED], then we’ll share your work!
Spookality is the one time of year where it’s totally okay to follow your friends around in VRChat chanting in weird tongues, sharing your favorite grimoires, and uttering the name of The Forbidden One to Bring About the Event – er, we mean… uhh, sharing your spooky creations with the rest of the community!
Good luck – and we’re excited to see what you come up with.
For press or media inquiries, please contact press@vrchat.com
We’re hiring! Check out open positions on our site
VRChat Mobile Beta Now Live!
We’re excited to announce that the VRChat Mobile Alpha has begun! This is a big moment for us – and we’re excited to give our users the ability to take VRChat with them, wherever they happen to be going.
Remember, this is an alpha! This is an opportunity for you to help our team test the mobile app across devices and in a variety of different environments. Your feedback will help us create a better overall experience for all users of VRChat. That also means that you should expect a few bugs, as well as a changing, ever-evolving experience as we continuously test what works best for mobile users.
So – let’s jump right to it: how do you get into the alpha?
Provided your Android phone or tablet meets the minimum requirements (see below!) and that you have VRChat Plus, you can download the alpha right now from this link.
Hey! The VRChat Mobile Alpha… is now the VRChat Mobile Beta! Ignore the above — you no longer need VRChat Plus to access the Beta — anyone can with an appropriate Android device!
We know you probably have many more questions, though – we’ve gathered up what we imagine the most commonly asked ones will be, and we’ll be answering them below. If your specific question isn’t on this list, we’d suggest checking out the relevant thread on the Ask forums and posting there!
VRChat Mobile FAQ
The VRChat Beta is open to everyone with a compatible Android device!
While the Android Alpha was locked to accounts with VRChat Plus only, the Beta is open to everyone who owns a device that meets our requirements.
Now, then – where do you get it?
You can do so here.
Where can I find the latest release notes / known issues?
Same place as our usual release notes — check here! Look for releases that end in “m.” (You know, m for mobile.)
Next up: What are the minimum requirements?
Most mid-range phones should be fine, but as a baseline, your phone needs at least 6 gigs of RAM. Any less, and it’s unlikely the app will run. Likewise, you need to be running on at least Android 10.
As we said before, though, one of the reasons for this test is to sniff out any technical landmines. While we’ve been able to get it to run smoothly on a variety of devices so far, it’s entirely possible that your particular phone might have a hardware quirk that we haven’t anticipated. Finding those landmines is what an alpha is for, after all!
Okay, but how does it run?
Pretty smoothly, we think!
In our tests, the Android client performs well across a variety of devices. We’d expect it to run at least as well as the Quest version – maybe even better, in a few cases.
There is one caveat, though: on a phone, users could be multitasking between a bunch of different apps. If you’re encountering frame drops, we’d encourage you to try closing apps running in the background to see if it improves performance.
Does the mobile app work on a cell connection?
Yes! Provided you have a good signal, VRChat should work just fine. With that said, switching between cell service and WiFi can be tricky, and won’t be present for the alpha release. That means that if you swap between mobile data and WiFi while playing VRC, you’ll probably drop connection. We’ll work on that, though.
What content is visible?
As was mentioned in the animation, all Quest content will be viewable on Android. However, viewable does not necessarily mean usable. While most stuff will work just fine, Quest content has typically been crafted for… well, Quest users!
That means that some content on phones might be a little wonky. We’d like you to find it – and we’d also like to figure out how to help creators make their existing Quest content more mobile friendly. If you find something that has an awkward control scheme, or just looks weird on mobile, let us know.
Will mobile users be labeled differently?
Just like Quest and PC users, mobile users will have a different tag over their head. With that said, during the alpha this will likely just say Quest – although it will be changing in the future.
Can you disable push notifications?
Of course! You can toggle them on or off as you please. We think most users will probably want to keep them on. We’ve found during internal testing that the notifications were really useful even if you spent most of your time on Quest or PCVR!
When will the mobile app come out of alpha?
We don’t know! Our intent is to gather as much feedback as we can, and continuously update the mobile build until we’re happy with it. We’d like to say sometime this year, but we aren’t committing to any concrete date just yet.
What about iOS?
We’re still working on our iOS build – but progress so far has been fairly smooth. There are a lot of roadblocks we could hit, so once again, we aren’t ready to announce anything just yet, outside of the fact that we’re working hard on it.
See You in the Alpha!
We’re so excited to finally get the Android VRChat Beta out the door.
As a reminder, this is an alpha! If you have suggestions for us, or you’d like to report a bug, please head over to our Feedback forums.
As usual, thanks so much for loving VRChat as much as we do. See you in the alpha!
For press or media inquiries, please contact press@vrchat.com
We’re hiring! Check out open positions on our site
Community Guidelines Update
The VRChat community is what makes our platform so strong – without you, VRChat would simply not exist. To be blunt, the community is the reason why we come into the (proverbial) office every day.
In order to keep that community safe, we’ve always instructed our users to follow our Community Guidelines and our Terms of Service.
As VRChat has grown, however, we’ve started to feel like our Community Guidelines have become a bit of a relic. We wanted to change them so that they were easier to understand, more relevant to our current community, and that they were directed at both users and creators.
So we’ve done that! The Community Guidelines have been completely updated. Instead of summarizing them here, we strongly suggest that you read through them. They’ve been completely rewritten from the ground up, so it’d be hard to summarize them anyway!
Additionally, we’ve created a new set of guidelines specifically for creators – aptly titled the Creator Guidelines.
Generally speaking, none of these guidelines are new or a surprise. These new guidelines do not come with a change to how we’re enforcing our rules, but it does mean that our guidelines are much more clear!
It’s strongly suggested that all creators read through these guidelines. While they likely won’t come as a surprise, we thought that breaking them out and codifying them would make our expectations of our creator community clearer.
You’ll also notice that, at the top right of both pages, there is a date showing when they were last updated. While we won’t always announce changes with a blog post like this, whenever we do make a change, that date will change.
We will discuss these Guidelines in our Dev Update thread for tomorrow (August 3 2023), so if you have questions or requests for clarifications, check out that thread when it goes up!
Introducing the Creator Economy
VRChat has a lot of creators – avatar and world makers, streamers, roleplayers, comedians, actors, musicians, dancers, and many, many more. There’s a good chance you might be a fan of a few of them!
Wouldn’t it be great if you could easily support them from within the VRChat client – maybe even helping them turn their hobby into something that could help pay the bills?
We think so – and that’s why we’ve been working on VRChat’s Creator Economy for the last few years. We last mentioned we were working on the Creator Economy way back in 2021. Since then, we’ve been busy working out exactly how we want it to work, and we’re now ready to start talking about it!
Two big points first: while we’re going to start talking about it today, it’s unlikely that this system is going to be out soon. We expect it to launch sometime this year, but we aren’t ready to make any concrete promise on a release date. Second, we’ll be opening up a beta – but unlike most betas we run, this will be closed. More on that later!
So with that out of the way, let’s get into it.
How Will the Creator Economy Work?
It’s unlikely that one single solution will work for every type of creator in VRChat. So, we’re going to be introducing multiple ways to interact with the Creator Economy.
First, we’ll be releasing a system where you can support creators through the Groups system. By supporting a creator’s Group, you can gain access to special roles that unlock certain features and perks you otherwise wouldn’t have.
World creators will be able to code in different features that dynamically change based on purchased group roles. So, for example, if you have a specific role, you might gain access to a certain room or item that you might not otherwise have access to.
But as we said above, the intent here is to support more than just the traditional groups people think of as creators in VRChat. For example, do you usually host events in VRChat? Well, now you’ll be able to host VIP events for your supporters.
All of this would be happening from within VRChat. If you’re a creator, that means that your supporters don’t have to jump through hoops or sign up for other websites. Likewise, if you’re someone that wants to support a creator in VRChat, you can do so just by clicking a few buttons in the client.
Our goal is to make this as easy as possible. If you have a great time at an event, or you’re playing around in a new world, we want you to be able to say thank you without having to jump through hoops.
What About Avatar Creators?
We’re very aware of how many avatar creators would love a system that makes it easier for users to find and buy their wares. Right now, it’s…complicated.
We’d like to streamline that process, and we have some good ideas for how to do so, but that’s something that will likely come after the initial release of the Creator Economy. We’ll be pushing out the Group-centric systems first.
While we have a pretty good idea of how we’d like things to work internally, we’re going to keep the specifics under wraps for now. Once again, check the bi-weekly Dev Updates for ongoing development information! (You can find those here!)
Closed Beta
Earlier, we’d mentioned that there’s going to be a Closed Beta for the Creator Economy. We wanted to talk a bit about that, as it’s going to look very different from other betas for us.
First, when we say Closed Beta, we really mean it – we only intend on inviting in 10 - 20 creators at first. Up until now, we’ve been testing these systems internally, but before releasing them to the public (even in a beta format) we want to make sure that they both actually work and that creators find them easy to use.
That first point can’t be stressed enough! We have to make sure that this system is solid at launch, as people will be putting their real, actual money into it. A bug could mean someone is losing money into the code void. And we obviously don’t want that!
Second, we don’t want to release something that might seem awesome to us, but that our top creators think is junk. As with all creator-based systems, we want to ensure that they actually interface well with their creative processes. We want to reduce friction for creators, after all, not create more of it!
All of this is to say that the beta is for… well, testing. For anyone that isn’t invited to this particular beta: the only thing you’re missing out on is a lot of jargon, and probably a lot of really annoying bugs! This isn’t an “early access” program, but rather an earnest attempt to make sure we’re delivering the best possible economy we can to VRChat.
Looking Forward
We’ve been working on the VRChat Creator Economy for a long time. We realize that the introduction of the Creator Economy – much like Groups – has the potential to dramatically change the VRChat community. It’s for that reason we’ve been carefully debating every aspect of this system behind the scenes for years.
To be blunt, we want to make sure to get it right.
For that reason, the Creator Economy is going to be in beta for longer than most features. It’s likely that it won’t be until later this year that it’s released to everyone. With that said, though, we’ll be updating the community on its progress as the year goes on in our bi-weekly Developer Updates.
Thanks for reading, and as always, thank you for loving VRChat as much as we do!
For press or media inquiries, please contact press@vrchat.com
We’re hiring! Check out open positions on our site
Announcing the Avatars for Everyone Winners
We’ve reached the end of another exciting jam! Four weeks ago, we asked VRChat’s creator community to submit their avatars to the Avatars for Everyone Jam. All finalists will be added to VRChat’s Featured Avatar row, and the ten winners will receive a year of VRChat Plus.
This has by far been our most successful avatar jam yet! Thank you to all of our 310 participants. Even if you didn’t make it into judging, we hope you enjoyed creating your submission and learned something along the way.
Our judges were blown away by the quality and diversity of the avatars submitted. Picking winners was not easy. There might’ve even been one or two arguments between judges, but we got through it!
Avatars for Everyone Finalists
180 Avatars were presented to our judges, who decided on a whopping 75 avatars that will be added to the Featured (Public) Avatar row!
Don’t worry, the previous Featured Avatars will be retiring to the Legacy row, and they will still be available to all of their fans moving forward. We thank them for their years of service and all the creators who kept them going!
Our 74 Finalists are…
2A-7⁄VVVVV by NEFCO
A-Cat by Asio_JPN
Abandoned Computer by barkScript
Abyssal Construct by Sillurgy
Alex by Marino
Alex by WalGesicht
Alien Rabbit by BEBE CARROT
AMP by MR_em
ARMS light by shake999
Astral Magester by Crazium
Atena by GabSith
Axelottie by Nae the Loud
Bean by FancySocks
Bestboi Chibi Public by Bestbois
Bhird by meltingarmymen
Burger Cat by ironicsoap
Carney Public by Angelic Crone
ccoogoo by シーレ／crepix
Charcoal by Furriest
Chibi Space Bun by E L I Z A
Clown by riceballer
Cube Kitty by SylviaCrisp
Cyberwolf by Gambit
CZ by asm0x0_あすみ
Darcy by Jorror
Finny by Olivian
Fishy Bon by babybonito
Flint Burntwood by Sylveon77
Freakhound by Ghost Cabbit
Funkmaster Jman by Raujinn
Handie by WuWanan
Hudson the Wizard by Charoody
inch the fisherworm by blueasis
Jimmy Smooth by ShadowKittay
Kori by TerraReef
Little Griffin by Estefanoida
Lunar Lizzy by it's moe
Meownyrn Catbot Public Jam by FrostKittyPaw
Misfortune Pawn by Jar
Mr Noble Skeleton by MrNobleSkeleton
Mururu by kuroneko_tsuki
Mushy by Luluru
Nimbus by Inevanable
Olga by Ethosaur
PC-droid by kittoki
per-loo-per-woo by yuuya_lo
Plato's Demon by Mr Mycelium
Pupbot by Widget365
Rex the Raptor by Zab
Robocoon by ぶろ⁄blo
Robodog by Bob_irl
Rune by -Darian-
RURILALA by aku955
SABOTAGE by ［SABOTAGE］
sania3․0 by alt_tamaki
Simple Fox by cellomonster
Sir Charletagne by Octuplex
Space Kitty by MonAmiral
Swan Bear by dawnofender
Sylias Space Bunny by Rainhet
Teenage Boomer The Dino by Dangleberry
The Awtter VRChat by Shade the Bat
The Professional by Bāph
The wool wizard by some random peep
Tigerbee by Tokyozilla
Trio by はにょえ
TV by Cozu by Cozu
UFOcto by Snapdragons
Umbra by Tofu_Teriyaki
Vrchat Handheld Device by Seasickdrip
Xperiment by speedbuiz
YADOKA_OOAME by さかずき ないぎ
Yukie by Temmie Dola
チセ -chise- by TKSP（タクスペ）
Avatars for Everyone Winners
Now the moment all of you have been waiting for… presenting our 10 Winners, each receiving one year of VRChat Plus:
In no particular order
Alex by Marino
AMP by MR_em
Axelottie by Nae the Loud
Bean by FancySocks
Bhird by meltingarmymen
Funkmaster Jman by Raujinn
Pupbot by Widget365
Rune by -Darian-
TV by Cozu
Xperiment by speedbuiz
While our jaws were constantly on the floor thanks to the amazing quality of the avatars all of our creators submitted, these ten really impressed us! We think they do an especially good job of showcasing the diversity VRChat has to offer. As we said before, it wasn’t easy selecting only ten winners. The sheer quality of incredible creators who submitted their work to this Jam was mind blowing.
Sometime in the next week, we’ll be sending out emails with feedback to all participants who submitted an avatar. Please keep an eye out for that!
Didn’t make it to the finals this time? Don’t fret! After the incredible success of this Jam, you can be certain that another one will be coming in the future.
Thank you all once again for participating. We can’t wait to see what you create next!
For press or media inquiries, please contact press@vrchat.com
We’re hiring! Check out open positions on our site
April Developer Update
This month, we wanted to share a few things we’ve been working on behind the scenes: Groups Updates, Localization, and Impostors.
We’re cooking a lot up so this is hardly an exhaustive list, but we wanted to break down these three features and talk about them in this month’s Developer Update!
Let’s not waste any time, and jump right into it. Up first: Group Updates!
Group Updates
As we said back in November, the intention for Groups was to release the bones of the system, and then over the next few months build on that foundation, adding in new features as we see fit.
The plan was to add search immediately after launch. However, after exploring things a bit more, we decided to prioritize a few other features, including some specific features that were requested by the community.
One of the biggest requests for Groups at launch was more Group-specific instance types. Well, you’re getting them! We’ll be adding in two new instance types: Groups Plus and Groups Public.
Groups Plus instances are identical to Friends Plus instances in a lot of ways. If you're a friend of someone who is in the Group Plus instance, you can join, even if you're not a group member! The major difference is that Group moderators will be able to control and moderate the instance.
This way, you can still enjoy many of the benefits of having a private Group instance, but with the added benefit of letting in people who aren’t part of that group. If you: run events, want a less exclusive-feeling environment, or just like to stay on green but want to know who you’re interacting with, this is for you.
Groups Public are – you guessed it! – like public instances. Except Group moderators can control and moderate them. This way, Groups can host their own moderated and/or special interest public instances and they’ll be visible alongside other public instances!
Now you can host a public event and keep things… well, a little less chaotic.
The next major feature we’ll be adding to Groups is Queues.
Ever wanted to join an instance but it was full? What if you could get in line instead? Now, if you attempt to join a full instance, you can join a queue instead of getting the dreaded “instance is full” error message!
When space is available, VRChat will notify you and hold your spot—currently for 2 minutes—so you can join. No more getting sent home or spamming "world join" to try and reach your friends.
Of course, these aren’t the only features that are coming for Groups. We intend to continue iterating and adding features to Groups throughout the year.
World Capacity Changes
Along with the Queue system, we’re making some changes to the “soft cap” and “hard cap” system!
Right now the capacity of a VRChat world is determined by a value called the “capacity.” This is a value that you set in the SDK, or on the website when viewing your own world.
This value is then used as the “soft cap”, or the amount of people you see in the UI that are allowed in a world—like 12 out of 16. When you’re at or above the soft cap, the UI and a few other things change behavior accordingly.
The “hard cap” is the maximum number of people permitted in instances of that world. Currently, it's two times the capacity that you set. That means if your capacity is set to 10, then your soft cap is also 10, and the hard cap is 20. But the overall hard cap is 80, set by us.
But that’s not it! There are a few exceptions: the world author and instance creator can always join that instance, even if it’s at hard cap! So, the absolute maximum is 82... or it would be, if there weren’t other exceptions for things like VRChat system-level accounts.
This is horribly confusing. So we’re changing it.
You’ll now be able to define two explicit values: the “recommended” capacity, and the “maximum” capacity. You can set these to be the same or different!
The recommended capacity is the maximum number of users you’d expect to be in the world for an ideal experience. Treat this the same way as the previous soft cap value; the UI and application will react in similar ways when you’re past the recommended capacity.
The “maximum capacity” can now be set by you, and it no longer has to be precisely double the recommended capacity! It just has to be greater than or equal to your recommended capacity, and less than or equal to our maximum capacity of 80.
If you want to set your recommended capacity to 20, and maximum to 25, you can do that! Or 20/80, 20/20, or even 1/1 for a solo experience.
The UI will now show the maximum capacity instead of the recommended capacity when viewing an instance. We’ll still display the recommended capacity alongside in some form.
You can also choose to set your maximum capacity to 80, or the “global maximum”. If we ever increase the global maximum capacity past this, your world will automatically bump up to that number. But, this isn’t something we’re thinking about doing anytime soon.
As said before, world authors, instance creators, and other exceptions may drive your actual possible occupants past 80, so make sure you account for that in your Udon scripts.
You’ll also notice some nuanced changes to how we handle full instances:
You'll no longer be able to invite someone to a full instance.
If someone requests an invite from you while you’re in a full instance, you'll be told you cannot send the invite, and can reply with “The instance is full, sorry!”
No more sitting in a loading screen for a minute only to get hit with a “HONK, sorry, instance is full” message.
We’ll have some more information available soon about these changes. Keep an eye on the text Dev Updates in our Ask forums.
Localization
VRChat is enjoyed by people all over the world. It’d be fair to say that we have a pretty linguistically diverse community! Spend some time in a few random instances and you’ll probably hear a few different languages, despite VRChat’s English-only UI.
We’re changing that.
We’ve already translated the Quick Menu and Main Menu tooltips, and will eventually move on to the rest of the client, starting with German, French, Italian, Japanese, Korean, and Spanish. Eventually, we’ll add other languages.
But our current translations are a bit literal and awkward. Long-time VRChat users likely have a better idea of what things are called. Or, they might have developed colloquial names for things that are commonly used in their language that we just don’t know about.
So, using a platform called Crowdin, community members can submit localization suggestions that will be reviewed by proofreaders and some bilingual VRChat developers. Once approved, the changes will be queued up and ready to go for the next client release.
And Crowdin is pretty easy to use! For those interested, check out our docs here.
Of course, we want to think of a way to properly thank the localization volunteers who are submitting suggestions…but we aren’t quite sure what that looks like yet. Or a timeframe. So please keep an eye out for something concrete!
Impostors
Finally, let’s talk about something we’ve been diligently working on for the past year: Impostors.
Impostors are essentially like avatar body doubles, allowing people to see your avatar in situations when they’d usually see a fallback avatar or robot. That means that even if you’ve never uploaded a cross-platform version of your avatar, or if someone has your performance level blocked, they’ll still be able to see an “impostor” of your avatar!
They’re created with the push of a button, and will one day be auto-generated. Impostors aren’t a mirror image of your avatar, but they’re pretty close!
Until now, we’ve used the fallback system: You’d select a more performant, cross-platform avatar that would appear when yours otherwise couldn’t be displayed. In many cases, this fallback avatar wouldn’t look anything like your avatar and you didn’t have a coherent identity.
That was confusing and frustrating for both you and the people you’d hang out with.
Even if you have the technical knowledge to build a custom fallback or cross-platform avatar, you might just not have the time. You couldn’t be seen how you’d want to be seen.
Wouldn’t it be nice, in those specific cases, if you could just press a button and generate a cross-platform avatar based on whatever avatar you chose? We think so.
We’ve been testing this tech internally for some time now, and are pretty confident that it can handle most avatars. Of course, there will be some exceptions. This is cutting-edge stuff, after all!
Sometime in the next few months, we will be introducing Impostors into VRChat. This feature is being rolled out in stages.
Once this feature is live, you'll be able to generate an Impostor for your avatar via the VRChat website. As a note, you'll only be able to generate Impostors for avatars that you own and have uploaded.
Impostor generation should be pretty fast! Once your Impostor has finished generating, you’ll receive an email letting you know that it’s ready or if the process failed.
Other users will only see your Impostor if there is no other version of your avatar available for the platform they are on.
Prefer using a fallback avatar instead? There’s a toggle to turn them on or off. And, if you want to see what your impostor looks like, you can toggle between your avatar’s actual model and its Impostor.
Keep in mind that this is a soft launch. We’re pretty happy with how Impostors look and feel but it’s not a finished product just yet. We anticipate that some Impostors might look weird, might totally break, or might not even generate at all. We’re going to be perfecting this system as time goes on until we’re completely happy with it.
Wrapping Things Up
So… we’ve been working on a lot of new features. And this is only the tip of the iceberg. In the coming months, we’re going to have a lot of really exciting things to share.
Curious about what we’re working on? Keep an eye out for future Developer Updates, and follow our weekly Dev Updates every Thursday on our Ask forums to stay in the loop.
As always, thank you for loving VRChat as much as we do. See you next time!
For press or media inquiries, please contact press@vrchat.com
We’re hiring! Check out open positions on our site
The Avatars for Everyone Jam is Live!
The Default Avatar Row: home to such VRChat classics as Mr. Funk, a Hot Dog, and of course, the most beloved avatar of all time, the Brush. If you’ve ever daydreamed about your handiwork being added to these hallowed ranks, well, we’ve got good news for you: we’re having an Avatar Jam!
(Alternatively, if you have nightmares about being trapped in a public lobby swarmed by legions of your own creations… well, okay maybe we don’t have great news for you, but read on!)
That’s right! The Default Avatar Row is getting a little long in the tooth, and we thought it would be a great idea to refresh it with submissions from the community. If you’re an avatar creator, now’s your shot to get your work in front of the entire VRChat community!
Here’s how it’ll work: submissions for the Avatars for Everyone Jam will open today, March 10th. They’ll remain open until April 3rd. On April 7th, we’ll announce the winners, who will then have their avatars added to the Default Row.
Likewise, the top 10 entrants will receive a year’s worth of VRChat Plus!
So, what sort of avatars are we looking for?
In short, we’re looking for avatars that are both Quest and PC compatible (and have feature parity between both versions!), inclusive, performant, published using SDK3, and are completely original.
And you know, look good. They gotta have style, you know?
Avatars for Everyone Scoring
Our judges will be scoring the submissions according to a few rating categories. As mentioned above, the top 10 entrants will have their avatars added to the default row and will receive a year subscription to VRChat Plus (although it’s worth mentioning, we might be adding more than those 10 winners to the row).
We’ll be sharing these scores with users via email – so make sure the email address your VRChat account is registered under is up-to-date. These will likely go out once judging is complete and the winners have been selected.
And as one final note, while the scores will be used to help find the absolute best entries, the judges will have the final say for who qualifies via group discussion. That means that the top 10 might not exactly reflect the scores, but it should be pretty close!
With the exception of the Pass / Fail category, you can earn a maximum of 5 points in each of the following categories:
Pass / Fail: The first category is binary – there’s no scoring here. You either make it, or you don’t. Simply put, this category is about following the rules. Does your avatar have a Medium or better performance ranking on both PC and Quest? Is it published on both PC and Quest? Does it use SDK3? Does it abide by the ToS? Does it accurately describe any third-party assets in the submission? Is it mentioning any websites or storefronts that we don’t approve of?
Essentially, make sure you check the Rules and Conditions below to ensure you make it past this category!Performance Ranking: Avatars will receive points based on their performance ranking. Medium avatars will receive 1 point. Good avatars will receive 3 points. Excellent avatars will receive 5 points. If an avatar has a different ranking between PC and Quest, we’ll use the lower of the two scores.
Aesthetics: How creative, unique, or interesting is the avatar? Do its meshes, materials, and UVs look good in a variety of scenarios?
Inclusivity: Does the avatar appeal to a niche audience, or might it be enjoyed by folks with a diversity of interests, body types, genders, cultural backgrounds, or experiences? For this category, we’ll be considering both the type and design of the avatar, as well as its customizability.
Use of Avatar Tech: How well does the avatar make use of the various AV3 features? Does it use PhysBones, Contacts, Expression Menus, Visemes, Eye Control? Does it look good with full-body tracking? Do the interactions and features make sense, or are they just thrown in to check a box?
Parity Between Quest & PC Versions: Creators might have to remove or change some advanced features to make the Quest version of their avatar. How much do they have to sacrifice? Are they able to find workarounds? Is the Quest avatar just as expressive as the PC one?
As mentioned above, don’t just read through the scoring guidelines – make sure you thoroughly read through the Rules and Conditions below. Likewise, if you’re entering the Jam, make sure you read over the official legal rules. If you don’t follow the rules, your submission won’t be accepted!
Rules and Conditions
Avatar Stuff
The submitted avatar should be around 152cm (~5'0") to 180cm (~6'0").
The avatar must have both a PC and Quest version.
The avatar must be built with Avatars SDK 3.0.
The avatar must abide by the Terms of Service.
When submitting the avatar, you must accurately describe any third-party assets that you used.
You may not directly mention storefront sites on/in the avatar or in its name, description, or thumbnail (like Booth, Gumroad, etc). It is okay to mention VRChat Groups, Discord, or Twitter.
Licensing Stuff
The avatar submitted should be an original avatar. It should also be aesthetically unique and different from our current featured avatars.
If the avatar submitted is derived from some other content, the original license must permit modification, redistribution, and use in a commercial application. You must provide a link to the original content, including its license.
Submissions for this event are now open! You can submit your avatar on the Avatars for Everyone jam page. We’ll close submissions on April 3rd, 2023 at noon!
Good luck – we can’t wait to see what you come up with!
For press or media inquiries, please contact press@vrchat.com
We’re hiring! Check out open positions on our site
Groups is Now Live!
One of the most anticipated VRChat features is now live: Groups!
Not sure what Groups is? In short, Groups is a new system that will make it easier for everyone to find the coolest communities and creations VRChat has to offer.
They’re such a big feature for VRChat, that we’ve gone ahead and dedicated a new Developer Update Video to them! Check it out:
There are genuinely so many unique and incredible communities in VRChat: people come in here to fly jets together, explore worlds, make music, party, have virtual car meets, simply hang out and chat, and of course, make cool stuff together.
Yet as it stands, it can be a little difficult to actually find all of those people!
Groups goes a long way to fix that, making it easier for both new and existing users to find communities that interest them, as well as making those very same communities a lot easier to run.
Now, a new player might come into VRChat, see someone’s group tag – say FLIGHT – and then ask about it. The person who is in the group might tell the user that they meet up with their group a few times a week to do dogfighting in VRChat. All of a sudden, that new user is being sucked into a community they never knew existed. On top of that, they now have a chance of being exposed to an entirely different group of people – all of which could be potential new friends!
Maybe you have a large community as it is – maybe running out of a service like Discord. In large communities, it can be hard to know when folks are online, or when something is going on. Now, though, you can just sign in, look at your group, and join on someone that’s online and in an open Group instance!
Groups are incredibly powerful – we see them as equally vital for VRChat as, say, avatar and user-created worlds.
The Groups Launch Process
We think that Groups is going to be a massive change to VRChat – one that’s unlike anything that’s happened to the community before. While we ultimately believe this is a good thing, we want to be very cautious with how we release this particular feature.
There are also a few technical challenges that prevent us from releasing everything all at once, like we’d usually do. To get around this, we’ll be releasing Groups piecemeal in stages.
The first stage is what is being pushed live today. It contains what we consider to be the most important, foundational features Groups needs to function.
In the next stage, which should arrive a short time after the initial release, we intend to add in search, as well as respond to the aforementioned user feedback. From that point on, we plan to iterate and add in more features, some of which we’ve already planned out, and some of which are dependent on the user response to Groups.
We’re a little leery about giving exact timelines here, but we’re fairly comfortable saying that there shouldn’t be months between each of these releases. Of course, we’re also pushing the first stage of Groups right before the holidays. Assuming everything goes smoothly, that means we’ll have very little time between release and our holiday break. That means that there might be more time between the first and second stage than we might want, but we should hopefully pick up the pace once we’re all back in the proverbial office!
After the second stage, we’ll be adding in a few more foundational features, as well as implementing as much user feedback as we can. It’s worth noting, though, that while we’ll be doing our best to address feedback in each stage, our focus will primarily be getting what we see as core features out the door first.
With that out of the way, let’s get into the details!
How Groups Works
The Groups system allows you to make… Groups! Anyone with VRChat+ will be able to make up to three new groups via the VRChat website. While you’ll eventually be able to do this in-app, for now, it’s done via the website only. Building a complex UI takes time, and we didn’t want it to hold up the launch – basically, think of this as early access Groups creation.
Before we go further: yes, you will need VRChat+ to make a group – but you won’t need it to join one. We want everyone to be able to use Groups, we just don’t want a massive flood of new groups right out the gate. We’re unsure as of now if this restriction will stay forever, or if it will be temporary.
When you make a group, you’ll have to pick its name, as well as a few other things – like an identifier, description, group icon, banner, and if it’s public or private.
All groups will have both a name and an identifier. A group name can be whatever you choose – following the Community Guidelines, of course. It isn’t unique, though, and multiple groups can have the same name.
The identifier, though, must be unique! The identifier consists of three to six characters in a string that you choose, followed by a randomly assigned set of four numbers.
This is often referred to as a Discriminator. Unlike the group name, the combination of the group’s identifier and its discriminator IS unique. If you’ve used other services where people are likely to have similar names, you probably recognize this setup.
After that, you’ll need to enter in a description for your group which will be displayed to other users, provided your group is public. You’ll then have to pick how people will join your group. Will you allow anyone to join, or will you require people to request permission? Or maybe you want it to be invite only?
Additionally, you can add a set of rules. We want Groups to be able to set expectations for how they expect their members to behave, and we want group members to see the reasons they might get in trouble.
We expect that some groups may want to set special rules – for example, a roleplaying group may require that users be in-character in certain situations. Of course, the VRChat Terms of Service and Community Guidelines ALWAYS apply to everyone using VRChat, but these rules let groups manage themselves more effectively and openly.
Finally, individual groups can be set to private or public. Private groups cannot be searched for, and you must be invited to join. Public groups can be set as invite-only, request to join, or open for everyone to join.
As a note, once you’ve set a group to one, you won’t be able to switch it to the other. Public groups will always be public, and private groups will always be private. We’re doing this primarily for privacy reasons – for example, if you’re in a group you think is private, you probably wouldn’t appreciate it too much if it suddenly went public!
How Groups Makes Your Community Better
If you already run a community, let’s talk about how Groups will make your life easier.
First, Groups will make it much easier for you to find new community members, likewise, it’ll be much easier for them to find you.
To have others join your group, you can simply give them your identifier and discriminator. They can type it in on the groups tab in the main menu, or they can type it on on the website. Both ways will allow them to easily join your group (or request to join it, depending on how you have things setup).
Likewise, every group will have a short link associated with it – this link can then be handed to others so they can easily join your group. If you’ve ever been invited to a Discord server, you generally know how this works.
While it won’t be in the initial release, we’re planning on incorporating a group search feature on both the VRChat website and in app. You’ll be able to search for groups and join ones that are public and accepting requests. This won’t be in the initial release, but we’re anticipating that we’ll turn search on during Stage 2.
Other users will also see members of your Group and be able to identify them. Users will be able to display their Group on their nametag, and you’ll be able to see what public Groups people are in, in their profile. In VRChat, you’ll be able to see information about the groups people are in, and decide if maybe you’re interested in joining.
Maybe you visit a public flying world for the first time and see an ace pilot there owning the skies. You’d see in their nametag that they are part of a flying group. You could look at the description, see that they are a competitive flying group, and then ask to join – suddenly you’d become aware of an entirely new activity in VRChat that people take part in!
But that’s just level one.
Improving Community Organization
We don’t just want it to be easier for folks with common interests to find each other – we want to make it easier for communities to function, too.
Groups will let you send out announcements – notifications that appear to each member in the group. Later, we’d like to build an entire bulletin board system. You’ll also have a group gallery, photos that everyone can see in the group.
Group members can also have permissions – say, you can have members who can invite others, and those who can’t.
These are called roles – and can be used for a variety of purposes. You might want to have a certain role for tour guides who can send announcements – and maybe another for the purposes of moderation. We also think people will be able to do some real out-of-the-box thinking with roles, and we’re excited to see what people come up with.
As a note, there will be a limited number of roles at launch, but that might change over time depending on feedback.
Group Instances and Presence
Another major organizational feature that Groups adds is Group Instances.
Group instances are a new instance type that work similarly to something like Friends instances. If you make a Friends instance, everyone who has you on their Friends list will be able to join. With Group Instances, everyone in that particular group will be able to enter the instance.
We think that Group Instances will save people a lot of time who are hosting and running events. We also think they’ll make a great and easy way for group members to hang out with each other.
That’s not the only way we want to bring Group members together, though.
When you look at your groups page, you’ll be able to see all of the instances your group members are in that you’re able to join. This way, you can immediately hop in and hang out with folks, even if you aren’t their friend yet!
What’s Coming Next
Groups is a huge system that we think is going to change VRChat forever.
Most of the features we’ve mentioned today will be released in the first, groundwork stage of Groups. Others will be released – along with polishing dictated by your feedback – in the weeks following the launch of Groups. We want to push these updates out relatively quickly, as we’d like to get Groups up and running as fast as possible.
With that said, we’re also choosing to push Groups out now, instead of waiting until after the holidays. That means that there will be a bit of a break between stages, as we take time off to recuperate, rest, and reorganize. Once the holidays are over, though, we’ll be right back at it, with the goal of pushing out as much as we can.
Likewise, in a month or two, we’ll have another developer update where we’ll be keeping you apprised of our progress, as well as what features we anticipate to bring to the Groups system next.
As previously mentioned, one of the reasons why we’re releasing Groups in stages is to incorporate feedback into the final product. To that end, we encourage users to provide us with their thoughts via the VRChat Feedback board.
We’re excited to get Groups out there – and we can’t wait for you to see what we’re working on next!
For press or media inquiries, please contact press@vrchat.com
We’re hiring! Check out open positions on our site
Introducing Email Verification
A few months ago, we mentioned in a blog post that we’d be continuing to roll out security features for VRChat. Today, we’re announcing another major security update: Email Verification.
In short, when users with a VRChat account first sign in on a device, they’ll be sent an email with a one-time code they’ll need to use in order to sign into VRChat. Once you sign in, your device will be authenticated, and you shouldn't have to repeat the process again for some amount of time.
As a note, users that have 2FA enabled won’t have to go through this process at all!
This change should dramatically reduce the number of accounts that are compromised, used as bots, or simply hijacked via poor security practices (like sharing your account information with another user).
This feature won’t go into effect for all users instantly, as we’ll be slowly rolling it out over the next few weeks to ensure that our systems work properly. We’ll be enabling the feature for select users today, and adding more in as we feel comfortable.
Why is VRChat Introducing Email Verification?
For three years, VRChat has allowed users to opt into 2FA, or two-factor authentication, on their accounts.
2FA provides an extra layer of security for user accounts. Whereas users’ accounts are typically protected with just a password, when 2FA is enabled, users have to also enter in a special generated code from an app like Authy or Google Authenticator.
When it comes to protecting your account, there is no better way to lock it down than to enable 2FA – and we’d encourage users to still do so!
Yet, we know that despite how powerful of a tool 2FA is, not all users will enable it.
Unfortunately, this means that many users have left their accounts unprotected. This has led to thousands of compromised accounts.
We’d like to put a stop to this.
To do so, we’re introducing Email Verification.
When Will Email Verification Be Turned On For My Account?
This isn’t going to be an immediate change for all users. We’re going to slowly roll this feature out over the next few weeks – so don’t worry if you don’t immediately notice a change! As mentioned in the introduction, we’ll be enabling it for the first set of users today, and then increasing that number in the coming weeks.
During this time, it’s entirely possible that you might have Email Verification switched on, but your friend won’t. Eventually, after a certain amount of time has passed, everyone who does not already use 2FA will have this feature enabled.
Looking Forward
As we mentioned in the previous security update, we can’t always talk about the security changes that we’re making – but that doesn’t mean we aren’t always working to improve the security of the platform.
There are still more updates to come, although we aren’t quite ready to talk about them just yet.
For press or media inquiries, please contact press@vrchat.com
We’re hiring! Check out open positions on our site