Interest in Virtual World Platforms Grows

Whilst it’s known that usage of software like Zoom has exploded as a result of the Covid-19 shutdown. What is less known is that interest in avatar-based virtual worlds is spiking as well.

“Yes, we’ve been getting a ton of inquiries,” said Philip Rosedale in an email to Singularity Hub. Rosedale is CEO and cofounder of High Fidelity, a software company currently building a new kind of virtual world that’s not yet been released. He’s also the creator and founder of Second Life and said it is seeing a surge in use as well.

“This is a strange moment for VR, virtual worlds, and the internet more generally. We may now truly be forced to create an equitable public commons online, where historically we’ve had the fallback of real life proximity,” Rosedale added.

While video-based software like Zoom will likely continue to be the preferred method for most remote business meetings during the shutdown, it is possible to wonder whether virtual worlds may prove uniquely useful now as well.

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Whilst it’s known that usage of software like Zoom has exploded as a result of the Covid-19 shutdown. What is less known is that interest in avatar-based virtual worlds is spiking as well.