Hang out virtually with friends on any VR platform thanks to AltspaceVR
AltspaceVR has been on Samsung Gear VR for a few months, on the Oculus Rift consumer headset for a few days (though it was out for Rift long before that in 2014) and now it looks like the latest HTC Vive device will get some love from the company too.
Out today on the Vive, you’ll be able to socialize across platforms with friends who have different VR headsets from you thanks to AltspaceVR’s virtual chatrooms.
In addition to Vive availability, a new feature called VR Call will let you hang out with friends as easily as accepting an invite from a text, email Facebook Messenger, Twitter or even Slack and Skype for business meetings.
Read this: Our full HTC Vive review
Including the VR headsets mentioned above, you also used in desktop mode on PCs or Macs with audio headphones and microphone.
To be clear, VR Call can only be initiated from Gear VR – you can only receive the invites on HTC Vive or Oculus Rift.
CEO Eric Romo says, “VR Call is a quick and easy way to be together with anyone in VR. People use their phones to text, talk or video chat, and now they can meet in VR just as spontaneously.”
Right now, people logging into Altspace VR can play mini games like disc golf, explore a maze, watch videos together, hold seminars and more. With VR Call, you can immediately hang out with friends far and near in the public or your own private VR spaces.
Though it doesn’t sound like much, VR Call is a huge step in uniting the platforms in one cohesive manner. VR headsets, whether high-end like the Vive or low cost mobile ones like Gear VR would benefit greatly from cross pollinating connections to allow more functionality. It’s also a great opportunity to enjoy VR together regardless of what headset you have.
The new VR Call enabled AltspaceVR app can be downloaded from the Google Play store for free.