Second Life developer shows off its new social VR platform

Linden Lab, creator of virtual world (and sometimes sex party) Second Life, has given us a new look at Sansar, a platform for building and inhabiting social VR spaces.

"No longer is VR limited to just professional developers and engineers," says the trailer's narration as it shows off tools for placing 3D objects—which can be custom made, repurposed from Sansar's existing collection, or purchased from an asset store—into an environment.

Once a new VR space is created, it can be shared privately or publicly and inhabited via Second Life-like avatars. Linden envisions Sansar's uses will range "from education and commerce to entertainment and live events." And sometimes sex parties, I have to imagine, but whatever it's used for it looks like it'll be fun to tinker with—a sort of 'Unity for novices' where I can build my own VR dreamscapes.

Sansar is currently in an invite-only phase—you can register here—but will enter open beta this spring. Another video, released a couple months ago, offers a slightly more in-depth look at the creation tools and rendering.

Tyler Wilde
Executive Editor

Tyler grew up in Silicon Valley during the rise of personal computers, playing games like Zork and Arkanoid on the early PCs his parents brought home. He was later captivated by Myst, SimCity, Civilization, Command & Conquer, Bushido Blade (yeah, he had Bleem!), and all the shooters they call "boomer shooters" now. In 2006, Tyler wrote his first professional review of a videogame: Super Dragon Ball Z for the PS2. He thought it was OK. In 2011, he joined PC Gamer, and today he's focused on the site's news coverage. His hobbies include amateur boxing and adding to his 1,200-plus hours in Rocket League.