Microsoft has added the Mesh mixed reality platform to its Teams remote collaboration app, making 3D and VR meetings now generally available to desktop Windows users and those with Meta Quest headsets. The immersive 3D meeting environments feature spatial audio as well as “live reactions” and the other standard Mesh features will be available to those with Microsoft Teams business accounts. Custom immersive spaces are also available to those with Teams Premium licenses. Microsoft says “hundreds of millions” of people worldwide are currently using Teams, although Mesh for Teams has only been in public preview since late 2022.

“Mesh provides a series of pre-made spaces that companies can customize with everything from informational videos to logos — without needing to enter any code,” reports Engadget, noting that “the Mesh toolkit works through Unity,” the 2D and 3D development platform used by Microsoft, “to tailor the virtual world further. Basically, if there’s a retreat an employer has always wanted to take everyone, they can create a version of it and invite everyone’s avatars.”

“Whether it’s a team social gathering, brainstorming session, or a roundtable discussion,” Mesh for Teams has something useful, Microsoft explains in a blog post that includes instructions for using the new feature. Users can host multiple and simultaneous small-group discussions that mimic “the ability to have the type of private conversations you’d have in an office by moving away from other co-workers in a virtual space,” according to The Verge.

The question remains as to whether Mesh will make it as a platform unto itself, observes The Verge. In 2021, Mesh became available to all Azure users, including those who used Microsoft’s HoloLens headsets.

“Microsoft says Accenture, BP, Takeda, and Mercy Ships are all using Mesh right now, but that’s a tiny fraction of the companies that use Teams every day,” The Verge says, noting “it feels a lot like a corporate version of AltspaceVR, the social VR platform Microsoft acquired in 2017 and shut down a year ago.”

“As more organizations continue to pick up hybrid work, Microsoft Mesh will help make this experience better with immersive 3D meetings that mimic and replicate in-person meetings in a virtual space,” writes Windows Central, which details the Windows account plans, starting at $4 per month, that make Mesh for Teams available. It is also being sold in the Meta Quest store.