Microsoft announced in January 2023 that metaverse Altspace VR is closed on March 10, 2023. The community who used Altspace VR to explore the worlds, attend meetings and express themselves, are naturally sad about the decision. But the shutdown follows a wider development: 11.000 of Microsoft’s employees are laid off and these layoffs primarily impacted the mixed reality division of Microsoft.
Altspace VR was first launched on May 2015 by then founder and CEO, Eric Romo. In 2017 the metaverse stood on the verge of a closure but survived thanks to the acquisition by Microsoft. Now five years later, the metaverse is still being closed after all. The closure of Altspace VR is effective March 10, 2023. According to a statement on the website, the closure was due to a shift in focus to Microsoft Mesh.
Altspace VR closing follows lay-off
However, Microsoft also announced in the same time frame that 11.000 of its employees are being laid off. This decision mainly affects the mixed reality division of Microsoft of which Altspace VR was a part. Also, part of this division is the development of Hololens, Azure AI and Mesh immersive solutions. But Altspace VR wasn’t the only service that is discontinued by Microsoft
Microsoft is ceasing development into its mixed reality tool kit (MRTK), which is a software development kit. This is remarkable, since MRTK is the base for several enterprise-grade applications, solutions, and tools, including Hololens. But, as said, Microsoft is continuing to focus on the development of Mesh as an augmented and virtual reality service. Mesh should support users to interact with friends and family in virtual worlds.
Partnering with OpenAI
Microsoft is also integrating Mesh into other products, such as Teams to allow users to use a tracked avatar on a call. The avatar could also be used during collaboration in a virtual world using Mesh App for Hololens. Amongst other companies, Accenture and World Economic Forum are already using Microsoft Mesh to create immersive collaboration spaces. Also, Microsoft is moving firmly in the direction of using AI to create new AI experiences. Therefore, they partnered with the company behind ChatGPT, OpenAI, in a multibillion-dollar deal.
