Oculus debuts its more customizable VR avatars

Your VR persona might just look a lot more like… well, you. Oculus is rolling out an Avatars overhaul that offers much more customization, particularly for facial features. You can pick the exact eyes, nose and mouth, or wrinkles if you’re a veteran VR user. You’ll also have more choices for body types, beards, makeup, clothing and other personal touches. Oculus claims there’s more than a “quintillion” possible combos, although it’s safe to presume some of them will be subtler than others.

Character movement should be more natural-looking thanks to machine learning-based motion prediction, Oculus added.

The brand is promising a more “unified” experience, too, with Avatars popping up in more places. They’re initially available in a handful of experiences, including games like Epic Roller Coasters, PokerStarsVR and Topgolf with Pro Putt, but they should come to a range of VR projects, including Facebook Horizon later in 2021.

The expanded Avatars might seem like simple additions, but they could spur further adoption of the Oculus Quest 2 and Facebook’s VR platforms. If you’re better represented in VR, you might be more likely to use the technology. That’s particularly true for Horizon and other social apps where your digital persona plays a crucial role.

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