on generative AI usage in creating worlds for VRChat - a vent

23 september 2026, wednesday

I've been on VRChat since 2019, but only seriously started getting involved with communities and meeting people around 2021. Very early on did I meet people who would later create immersive experiences in virtual reality for free, all accessible via VRChat as a VR platform. I've seen the hard work that goes into making these worlds and cultivating these experiences. Thousands of hours poured into software like ZBrush, Blender, Krita, Photoshop, and Unity just so people can walk through these worlds at no cost. A lot of these people are creating content for the platform with minimal support, driven by passion for the platform and their communities.

With that being said, I thought it would be obvious that the platform should lift up these creators who have given so much to the user experience. I think of creators such as Wolfly, Babyjack, Hexe and so many others who have created spaces for events, parties, get togethers, performances - you name it. Such events gather hundreds of people from all over the world. It could be said that these creators, in some ways, help bolster the activity that surrounds VRChat. That these creators run such events and engage with others in turn creates metrics for VRChat to show off an ever growing, changing space.

So it is frustrating to see that in the worlds page, there are numerous worlds that have been generated either entirely or partially by AI, specifically GPT-6 Astra. It feels like a spit to the face to the creators who have built up this platform with their events and communities. Should they not have the spotlight?

For specifically GPT-6 Astra, it can build and create meshes in Blender and assemble them through Unity and Unreal Engine 5. What I suppose makes this solution attractive to a lot of people is that it can cut down work and hours put into projects. The caveat is that Astra itself is still not perfect, as issues such as random unneeded shapekey creations and deformations and bad topology are still at hand. It could be argued that using Astra could create more work if it does not actively give the user what they want, whereas if someone were to build up meshes and environments by hand, it would be created the way that it was intended to be. Astra cannot promise that - like most genAI models, it can only approximate and average to the best results.

It has been weeks now that users have been asking for content identifiers for these AI generated worlds, with nothing being said officially by VRChat themselves. The feedback hub for VRChat is filled with post after post from the community asking for something to be done, for them to address this issue, with absolute radio silence on it. Now that there is a post on the official VRChat Bluesky account showcasing a world that has used generative AI, many (including myself) are taking this as the platform's response.

What makes this hurtful to users is that it feels like VRChat doesn't care, that VRChat doesn't value the work that world creators and community leaders put into the platform to create experiences and events that aim to immerse people into virtual reality. It feels that instead of directly addressing this issue, VRChat would rather completely ignore the cries from their community and push for a future that no one on the platform really wants. It needs to be noted that those of us who care about whether or not generative AI has been used for world creation care deeply about being able to see and experience work painstakingly made by hand by members of the community. To me, it feels like the platform is silently stating that they do not care for the experiences that are being created on here at all.

It stings, obviously, because I am surrounded by such talented people who deserve to not only have their work showcased by also given proper gratitude and flowers for the work put into it. What makes VRChat is the people in it, which by extension includes the things that they make for the platform.

Who knows? Maybe with time, this issue will be resolved by the addition of a content identifier for AI worlds. If not... it could lead to a mass exodus of creators from the platform, which is something VRChat should be aware of and try their utmost best to prevent from ever happening.