Quick Links:
Avatar Marketplace Creator FAQ
Creator Economy Intro Video
Welcome to the Creator Economy (Docs)
Identity is a big part of VRChat – and that means finding an avatar that fits you. Yet, that can be a bit of a pain, especially if you aren’t adept with Unity, or if you don’t feel like visiting hundreds of worlds to try to find something that fits.
But what if you didn’t have to do any of that – what if you could simply find something that works for you from inside VRChat? What if you could browse through a ton of easily accessible options, all organized by category? What if you could do so while supporting avatar creators, ensuring they have the means to keep making the fits you love?
Well, you’ll be able to shortly – the Avatar Marketplace is coming very soon!
The Avatar Marketplace lets you find an avatar from within VRChat, without the need for Unity, or any external website.
You probably have a lot of questions, though – so let’s talk about how it works, what it means for creators, and what’s coming next.
Introducing the Avatar Marketplace
The Avatar Marketplace allows folks to buy avatars from within VRChat. It’s easy! Simply go to the Avatars tab, click Explore, and start browsing! See an avatar you like? Click it – try it on! Like what you see? Cool – buy it with VRChat Credits and now it’s yours!
The store will launch with an initial installment of high-quality avatars, and we expect this number to grow rapidly as creators move their wares to the Marketplace.
Through this new system, we’ve tried to remove a lot of the frustration from finding an avatar that works for you. For example, you can easily see what an avatar’s performance ranking is, without having to dig for it. If you see someone wearing an avatar that’s on the marketplace, you don’t have to figure out where to find it – that information is now available to you natively.
As mentioned previously, you also have the ability to try on avatars. As a note, when you do this, you’ll be the only one able to see the avatar. This way, though, you can get a feel for the avatar you’re trying on. Does it match your proportions? Does it fit your vibe? You can see instantly.
When the right avatar clicks with you, you can buy it using VRChat Credits. Once you do, it’s yours! You’ll find it under the “Purchased” list in the “My Avatars” tab.
Seriously: that’s all there is to it!
More Options, More Flexibility
We designed the Avatar Marketplace to help people get into an avatar that fits them easily. It’s also designed to make the process as easy as possible for creators – and we’ve been refining it behind closed doors with their input for the last few months.
Let’s get something out of the way first, though: no, this system isn’t replacing the “old way” of doing things. You’ll still be able to upload your own avatar via Unity. Avatar creators also will be able to still sell their wares on other platforms. That isn’t changing!
However, most folks really struggle to find (and then use) avatars that connect with them. Not only is finding the “right” avatar hard, but learning Unity is a pretty big barrier for many people, and it isn’t even an option for those who might not have access to a PC.
We want to make sure that everyone has an easy way to get an avatar! We also wanted to open up a brand new market for creators, allowing them to access a bunch of people they’ve never been able to connect with.
Instead of getting the source files from a third-party marketplace and uploading them yourself, you simply gain access to the avatar immediately. For both buyers and sellers, this means far less troubleshooting. One thing we heard from creators is that they wanted to spend less time helping people get their new avatar into VRChat and more time making new things.
Speaking of creators, let’s talk about their perspective a bit.
Selling Your Avatars on the Marketplace
Selling Avatars on the Marketplace is simple – it’s as easy as uploading any other avatar to VRChat! While you’ll need to go through the same onboarding process as other Creator Economy sellers, once you’ve done that, it’s essentially just submitting the avatar to the marketplace using the VRChat website, and waiting for our team to review the avatar.
As was the case with the initial launch of the Creator Economy, the marketplace will be limited to select sellers at first. This small cohort allows us to iron out any bugs, especially as more and more people buy avatars from the Marketplace.
If you’d like to be considered, please consider checking out the Creator Economy Application link in the description below. Likewise, if you’re a creator, you can apply to become part of the Creator Economy here!
What’s Coming Next
We intend to release the foundations of the Avatar Marketplace system shortly. After launch, we’ve already planned some immediate improvements — think tag search and filtering, along with other ways to make browsing through the avatars on the Marketplace a lot easier.
We also intend to simplify the buyer’s journey, smoothing out the purchasing process. We’ll also be continuously onboarding new sellers into the system, increasing the number of avatars actually in the Marketplace. If you don’t see something that fits you on day one, keep checking back! Also, feel free to drop a comment below describing what sort of avatar you’d like to see in the Marketplace.
We’ll continue to polish the experience up and expand upon the initial feature set, both for folks using the marketplace, as well as the folks selling on it.
Keep an eye out for the Patch Notes Video when Avatar Marketplace launches, as we’ll likely have more details about what’s coming next.
Post launch, we’ll likely update you on our plans via the bi-weekly Developer Update posts. So if you’re curious about what’s next, make sure you’re paying attention to those when they go out every other Thursday!
Conclusion
Finding the right avatar is a big part of VRChat – as many of you likely know, finding the “right” one makes a huge difference, and we want to make that process easier for everyone.
The launch of the Avatar Marketplace represents an important first step toward building a system that makes finding an identity in VRChat far, far easier for everyone, regardless of their technical ability.
If you have a question about the Avatar Marketplace as a creator, we strongly suggest checking out the FAQ (and, if it’s not covered, asking your question there).