I have just about avoiding suggesting that AltspaceVR is getting a Second Life, partially because that may have confused people as to what exactly is going on.
On July 28th a post appeared on the AltspaceVR blog; A Very Sad Goodbye :
It is with a tremendously heavy heart that we let you all know that we are closing down AltspaceVR on August 3rd, 7PM PDT. The company has run into unforeseen financial difficulty and we can’t afford to keep the virtual lights on anymore. This is surprising, disappointing, and frustrating for every one of us who have put our passion and our hopes into AltspaceVR. We know it will probably feel similarly for you.
AltspaceVR had received funding in 2015 and they thought that a deal for another round of funding had been secured, but that deal fell through and therefore AltspaceVR had no choice other than to shut their virtual doors.
People said their goodbyes and paid their respects :
@AltspaceVR So much respect for all your hard work. We salute you.
— High Fidelity (@highfidelityinc) August 4, 2017
That seemed to be that, but in a very unexpected development, AltspaceVR have blogged the news that AltspaceVR is back! :
Thanks to that outpouring of support, we’re now deep in discussions with others who are passionate about AltspaceVR who want to guarantee that our virtual oasis stays open. We feel confident saying to our community that you don’t need to find another place to meet your friends in virtual reality. AltspaceVR is not closing down.
Now it’s not known exactly who AltspaceVR are in talks with, the blog post states that they will share more as soon as they can but speculation has started.
Lucas Matney over at TechCrunch has an article about AltspaceVR staying open and there’s some speculation that Palmer Luckey of Oculus fame may be playing a role, although this seems to be purely based on a tweet from Palmer Luckey in the wake of the announcment that AltspaceVR was closing :
Should I try to save @AltspaceVR? (caveat: may not be possible)
— Palmer Luckey (@PalmerLuckey) July 29, 2017
TechCrunch have reached out to Palmer Luckey for further comment but there has been no news yet.
The more important news is that AltspaceVR is still around, we can wait patiently for news of who the new backers may be.