AltspaceVR Returns: SideQuest Relaunches the Social VR App, Free on Quest and Coming to Steam

AltspaceVR is back. SideQuest, which bought the rights to the name earlier this year, has soft-launched the revived social VR platform on the Quest Store, The Ghost Howls reported on October 26, 2026. A Steam page lists AltspaceVR as free to play in Early Access for October 2026, MIXED reports, with SideQuest Ltd. as developer and publisher.

What's in it

The core of the new AltspaceVR is shared multiplayer Worlds, avatars and spatial voice chat. It runs in VR and in desktop mode, and SideQuest says "AltspaceVR works just fine on Desktop and Android without VR". Friends, messaging, discovery tools and moderation features are still being built during Early Access.

The Steam listing names OpenXR and Steam Link in its minimum requirements and Valve's Steam Frame in its recommended ones. SideQuest also lists Meta Quest, PICO, Android and Windows PC.

Free now, and later

SideQuest has ruled out charging for the app after Early Access ends: "AltspaceVR is free to play and we currently plan for it to remain free after leaving Early Access." The studio expects Early Access to last "around 6-12 months".

Why it matters

Microsoft closed the original AltspaceVR on March 10, 2023, leaving its event-focused community without a home. The revival lands in a thinner field: rival social apps Spaces and Rec Room both shut down their social VR worlds this summer, while VRChat, Resonite and ChilloutVR carry on. Early numbers are modest, with only around ten reviews on the Quest Store in the first days, but a free app that runs on Quest, PC VR, desktop and Android has a low barrier for anyone who misses the original. You can find it on the Meta Horizon Store, with the Steam version listed on SteamVR.