VRChat for Android is now free. Supports VOIP/Text chat and already has 50,000 downloads!

Just in time for the weekend, VRChat for Android is now available for free on Google Play.

I’m an iPhone naturalist. But dear readers, if you are using Android, please give this app a try and report back here on your experience.

It was previously in closed alpha and only available to paid VRChat+ subscribers. Despite this, it has already been downloaded more than 50,000 times, mostly by subscribers. (That’s another way of saying that VRChat+ has over 50,000 paid subscribers. If you take into account all VRChat+ subscribers who own an iPhone, it’s probably more than double that number.)

And yes, the Android app supports VOIP and text chat. The VRChat team just confirmed it to me. I think this will be the primary use case for mobile because PC and VR are better suited for immersion, exploration, and content creation.

Our friends at VRChat say that the Android app is primarily made for social interaction.

"Most of the people currently using this product were avid VRC users (due to the VRC+ requirement). They’ve been using it to keep in touch with friends when they’re not on their PCs, to test content, and basically find an easy way to track if their friends are around. Something like that."

But now that anyone can use the app, usage patterns may change. I wouldn’t be surprised if mobile apps became the most popular way for people to chat with each other within the world. This is especially true among the large VRChat community who enjoy sleeping in real life while logged in.