So why did Linden Lab sell the platform? In short, the company wanted to be profitable and Sansar wasn't making enough money. Come in here and do something,'" Altberg said. "It doesn't become all about us just saying, 'Hey, you there on the motorcycle. They wanted to use the platform, and performers had the potential to bring many new users - more than Linden Lab could possibly attract with traditional advertising - through its virtual doors. "Meet your friends, buy merch, take selfies, and dance til you drop!" Other experiences are still available, but they don't appear to be the main selling point anymore.Īccording to Altberg, the shift was in response to the interest it had received from musicians, record labels and event organizers. "See your favorite artists without traveling to their shows," the site explains. The official website now calls it a " live events destination" with a heavy emphasis on virtual concerts. Over time, though, Sansar's strategy and focus appears to have narrowed. Sansar did attract some commercial clients including Hello Kitty creator Sanrio, Levi's jeans, and Fnatic, one of the largest esports organisations in the world. Scenes could be educational, Altberg explained to me years ago, with tour guides or pre-recorded audio narration. Clearly, Linden Lab was picturing Sansar as a platform that could offer more than entertainment. It had been created with photogrammetry - a technique that combines LIDAR-based data and 360-degree photography - and let you get up close with some beautiful paintings. Prior to its launch, Linden Lab showed me an Egyptian tomb scene in Sansar. The official website now calls it a "live events destination" with a heavy emphasis on virtual concerts. "To me, it feels like VR is still where mobile was somewhere in the '90s," Altberg said.
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Standalone VR headsets like the Oculus Quest are slowly bridging the gap between smartphone and PC performance, but they still don't have the power required to run a multiplayer experience like Sansar. High-end hardware has undoubtedly improved over the last few years, but the associated cost - which includes a gaming PC - has remained roughly the same. "It's a long road, so that's why we made the decision to focus on both desktop and virtual reality and become more inclusive in the types of use cases and people that could be in it," Ebbe Altberg, CEO of Linden Lab told Engadget this week.Īltberg admits that Linden Lab leapt into the VR space "a bit early" and had hoped "for a bit steeper of a curve" in headset adoption. And the team didn't want to dilute the experience so it could run on mobile-powered hardware like Google Cardboard and Samsung's Gear VR.Īn exhibition by The Smithsonian American Art Museum in Sansar. Linden Lab knew that the number of people with high-end VR headsets was small, though. At the time, there were many 3D chat room experiences - including Second Life - but few that allowed large groups to strap on a headset and freely converse.
Sansar's VR compatibility was a big draw. Similarly, Linden Lab hoped Sansar would attract users who crave diverse worlds - like those promised in movies such as Ready Player One - and, if they have a creative spark, possibly make their own assets that can be shared and sold to the rest of the community. The company hoped that this mix would attract commercial clients - think museums, car manufacturers and record labels - that want their own VR experience but don't have the technical expertise to deal with game engines and digital distribution. Second Life developer Linden Lab has sold Sansar, a platform for virtual 'scenes' that could be explored with a VR headset or traditional PC setup.īack in 2016, I described the service as " WordPress for social VR." A foundation that allowed creators to import custom assets and quickly build their own shareable world.
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