‘Wooorld’ is Basically a Multiplayer Version of ‘Google Earth VR’ for Quest 2 & Quest Pro, Trailer Here

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If you’ve played around with the PC VR app Google Earth VR, you’ve probably lost yourself visiting your hometown, or mapping out new adventures thanks to its extensive 3D building scans. Although Google Earth VR is a PC VR only app, a third-party Quest app called Wooorld has launched on the Quest platform that not only offers up much of the magic of Earth VR but also the multiplayer fun that lets you tour around the world with friends and family.

Update (October 26th, 2022): After a long wait, Wooorld is finally here on Quest 2 and Quest Pro, priced at $15 on the Meta Quest Store. Featuring passthrough AR so you can browse 3D maps of the world in the comfort of your own home, you’ll also be able to move through millions of 360 street view images, sketch anywhere, take pictures, and save 360 images too, all in multiplayer mode.

Wooorld also launched on Quest with a GeoGuessr-style mini-game called ‘Where in the Wooorld’, which puts your geographical knowledge to the test in VR. We’ve included the new launch trailer, embedded above.

Original Article (January 20th, 2022): Wooorld (that’s three ‘o’s) isn’t being developed by Google, however it appears to be making good use of Google Maps APIs, giving it access to all the 2D and 3D data you’d find on Google Earth VR.

One of the biggest differences is that Wooorld offers up a more limited rendering of Earth 3D data, which was undoubtedly done to lighten the load on Quest’s more modest mobile chipset.

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While that’s slightly disappointing from an immersion standpoint, it’s offering up the whole experience in multiplayer, which includes voice-chat, customizable avatars, and even a mixed reality passthrough. It also has access to Google’s Street View photospheres, which looks like a cool way of checking out the planet with a friend.

The eponymous team behind Wooorld say you’ll also be able to sketch an idea, import your own 3D models from the cloud, pin notes, take pictures, record videos and more.

Wooorld is aiming to support Quest first, however it’s also looking to eventually come to PC VR, mobile AR, and AR headsets such as HoloLens 2.

It’s not clear when Wooorld is coming to Quest—in the latest promo video the company says it will be here “soon.” In the meantime, the team has sign-ups for beta testing if you’re interested in getting your hands on the whole planet.

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Well before the first modern XR products hit the market, Scott recognized the potential of the technology and set out to understand and document its growth. He has been professionally reporting on the space for nearly a decade as Editor at Road to VR, authoring more than 3,500 articles on the topic. Scott brings that seasoned insight to his reporting from major industry events across the globe.
  • CIR

    Love this idea, hope the mobile platform can keep it smooth.

  • Nothing to see here

    What we need is a Google Earth VR version of Google Earth VR for the Quest.

    • Sven Viking

      Also a Google Earth VR version that doesn’t crash on PC. Not sure if the cause is known but compatibility issues cause both the SteamVR and Oculus SDK version to crash on startup on some systems, and it’s not looking like Google will ever patch it :/.

      • Nothing to see here

        I believe you but I never encountered a crash myself. Perhaps it depends on the GPU.

      • GunnyNinja

        Didn’t know that was a thing. 5 different headsets, 2 different PC’s, never had a crash.

        • Sven Viking

          Not sure what the cause is but on one PC it crashes on startup, using either the Oculus Store/SDK or the SteamVR version, while on another it works. Looking it up, I found a lot of people reporting an identical issue (see also user reviews). Went through a lot of suggested troubleshooting steps without success.

          • GunnyNinja

            I’d try to parse what you have in common with those people. Sometimes VR is finicky with things as simple the chipset your usb uses. Maybe a new motherboard is due. You can still get one of those.

          • Sven Viking

            It’s actually my old system that it works on, so if so, getting a new motherboard is the cause of rather than the solution to the problem.

            Considering this issue wasn’t reported closer to the release but has become fairly common more recently, whatever compatibility issue there is is almost certainly related to newer rather than older hardware or software.

          • GunnyNinja

            Maybe less the age than the choice of hardware. Check your chipsets.

          • slowride7557

            I think I have this problem because I cannot get Earth VR and Oculus 2 to work with every online method I’ve tried on two different Windows 10 machines

    • GunnyNinja

      Agreed. One of the reasons mobile VR hasn’t appealed to me.

    • Andross

      in my opinion, we simply need a Google Earth VR not abbandoned. the project is literally closed, it’s absurd.
      one of the function needed most is the possibility to highlight streetview zones, otherwise we need to poing the entire word in search of images… no sense at all.
      but I still like it so much.

  • VR5

    Google Earth VR is great on PC but I like the multi user/co presence demonstrated in Wooorld. It is really hard to demo VR because you don’t share the same space. This is great to show to non gamers and actually experience together.

    The little world on a table view would also work great for adapting 3rd person games into VR. Screen resolution and comfort is good enough on newer headsets so the only remaining hurdle for playing everything in VR is motion sickness.

    This view doesn’t need to be the only VR mode for 3rd person flatgames to VR adaptations but one that could be included to ensure everyone can play it in VR.

  • I made a similar concept some years ago using a different headset, great to see someone taking the idea into a full-fledged product!

    • ViRGiN

      Yeaaaah you made it with a PC. That’s why it went nowhere. At least you didn’t publish it on steam.

  • jimmy

    Am I the only one that don’t get the interest of google earth vr I tried it many time there is 2-3 places in 3D everything else is just regular google maps

    • Nevets

      Probably. Also, you write like a five-year-old.

      • bluetoothbday

        sick burn right there you’re the real deal

  • Wes Osborne

    This looks great, but man I wish he had color cameras high res. hopefully not long till its a normal thing.

  • Clownworld14

    This looks abit boring, tho I do love google earth vr, virtually traveling everywhere.

  • ViRGiN

    Yeah, they must use a pc running steam, that’s why it’s so old.

  • Wheezle

    I wish they’d made a version of this for PCVR. The Quest 2’s muddy textures make this a real eyesore to use.

  • somethingsome

    lalalalalalaaalallalalalalalalaal pooooooooooooop

  • 34853`-2395-9

    Wow!

  • 4381949134

    Wow!

  • 2389090283

    Wow! So informative! Wow!