Stuck Inside? A Quick Guide for using VRChat to Stay Connected Tupper Follow Mar 18 · 8 min read

We’ve been closely following global events relating to COVID-19, and we know it’s difficult to isolate yourself. Keeping social distance is a massively important step in keeping everyone safe. However, communication and spending quality time together is vital to staying connected and healthy. How do you spend time with friends and family while staying safe?

VRChat is a free 3D social app with chat rooms and avatars. Most of the content is made by our amazing global community, who have created over 50,000 worlds and 4 million avatars.

You can experience this too, but you don’t need a VR headset. Any modern Windows computer will do! Many in our community use VRChat with mouse and keyboard or a gamepad.

We’ve put together this short guide for using VRChat to get together. You can get out and socialize, explore together, play games together, create together, and more — all from your home.

If you’re not familiar with VRChat, here’s a primer on how to get started. We’ll cover four sections.

This step is pretty easy! Visit our website and click “Login” at the top right, then click the “Registration” tab. Alternately, just visit this link. After you’ve created your account, check your email for a verification message — if you don’t see it, check your Junk folder!

VRChat is available on a few platforms. We’ll talk about Steam and Oculus here.

Steam

Steam is the largest game and software distribution platform in the world. Installing it is pretty easy, just head to their site.

After you have Steam installed, either search for VRChat or click on this link. Click on Install, wait a bit, and you’re done!

To launch VRChat in VR or Desktop mode, simply click Play in Steam. You’ll be given the option of VR or Desktop play. Steam is the easiest way to access VRChat if you’re using Desktop mode (as in, you don’t have a Virtual Reality headset).

Oculus

If you’ve got Oculus hardware (like the Rift S or Quest), the Oculus app is the best way to go! If you’ve got an Oculus headset, you should already be set up with VR. Simply search for VRChat in the Oculus software and install.

To launch VRChat in VR mode on PC or Quest, simply click Start. To play in Desktop on PC, click the three dots below the icon, and click “Start in Desktop Mode”.

A Little Bit of Setup

Now that you’ve got an account and the app, go ahead and boot up VRChat. Use your email address and password you created to log in.

You’ll be placed into a short tutorial, where you’ll be taught how to move around, change avatars, and interact with our Menu.

Once you’re done with the tutorial, go ahead and exit VRChat. You’ll get a pop-up asking if you want to install a “VRChat Installation Helper”. Click OK!

This will allow VRChat to use web links to join worlds.

There’s a few ways to make a world instance. Let’s walk through creating a private space for you and your friends and family.

Using a Web Link

If you’re trying to create a hangout or meetup with a few people in private, this is the best way to go! Let’s start with creating a world instance of the VRChat Hangout Bunker.

Click on this link to find the world page for the Hangout Bunker. If you scroll to the bottom, you’ll see a box labeled “New Instance”. In that box, select “Invite”, then click “Launch”.

This will bring you to a page that you can link to others!

This page lets you “Launch World”, which starts the VRChat application using that link helper you installed earlier.

However, if you’re already in VRChat or are about to hop in, you can use the “Invite Me” button. This is a new feature! This button will send you an invite notification in the application, so you can join immediately. This works on Quest, too.

Most importantly, we provide a Share link. This is a shortened link you can provide to people as a gateway into the instance. Right click on it, copy the URL, and share it with the people you want to meet with. When they click on that link, they will see the same page with the “Launch World” and “Invite Me” buttons.

Using the VRChat Application

When you’re in VRChat, it’s easy to create an instance. Open your Quick Menu (ESC), then click on Worlds. A new menu will pop up. Find a world in this menu and click “New Instance” in the bottom left. Choose “Invite” or “Invite+”, then click Go. You’re in!