VRChat Peak User Concurrency Passes 40,000 -- Up From 24K Last November

VRChat had some technical troubles during the world's New Year celebrations last week, but it was one of those catastrophic success sort of things:

If you’re unaware, we had a bit of an issue at probably one of the most popular times to hang out in VRChat and traditionally where we set concurrent user records — New Years Eve, around the time that EST hits midnight. VRChat went down. Great timing, yeah? Let’s talk about what happened.

First off, before the issues started, we were chugging along with no problem. In fact, shattered our previous concurrent player record with over a mind-boggling 40,000 players online at the same time.

Notably VRChat's reported peak concurrency just last November was only 24,000. A lot of the user growth since then is likely attributable to new Oculus Quest 2 owners plugging into the virtual world over the holidays for the first time.

Also notable for longtime readers, 40,000 is roughly on par with median concurrency for Second Life. A veteran SLer who's recently transitioned over to VRChat tells me the new world reminds them of SL during its highly sociable glory years:

"To me VRChat feels like 2007-2009 Second Life," as they put it. "Back when it was alive and everyone was talking..."

Now, however, "Walking up to a random SLer and chatting them up feels taboo. It just feels like you're bothering them. It's not where you should go for random social interaction, at least, not anymore."

Much of that may have to do with how users on the two platforms interact with their avatar identities in a social space:

"To me most people in SL get pretty upset if you walk up to them and hold the same conversation you might in VRChat, people in SL are insanely private about anything about their real life, it's kind of taboo to even bring up. In Second Life you're supposed to keep the metaphor or whatever. In VRChat you're just connecting over VR. There's not really any level of pretending going on."

Comments

[Pulsar]

Yeah, when you log in VRChat, you see someone active already. In SL you face a wasteland with a few bots and AFK folks scattered here and there all over the map and in the busier places most people just stand and do nothing. So much that it is common to see entrance-sweeping devices, since many folks don't even move away from there.
There are fewer people around in SL, compared to 2007-2009, except maybe some adult place and shopping event.
So in general it feels less alive and, yeah, the people left seem less friendly and sociable, perhaps they are the same who drew the nicer ones away (I'm joking, but not entirely).

As for SLers' tendency to keep their real life private (until you earn their trust at least), it's not totally surprising, if you consider how popular the sexual activities are in there, many of which are BDSM, let alone some of the most insane kinks on the net. Even if you aren't really into that, there are dudes who give it for granted. For some woman it could be dangerous to share her real life information, as sometimes it turns out you have met a dude with severe mental disorders. Even if you don't meet maniacs and sociopaths, there is drama and so forth. So, better safe than sorry.
Not even the Lindens put their real info in their profiles, usually, but a couple of exceptions; and some of them use anonymous alts regularly.
This being private didn't change much from 2007-2009.
For the LOL, 2007 Torley's tutorial: https://youtu.be/ZCgQRrdtgQc?t=648

[Dribbles]

For SL, I really think it is serving a much older and aged crowd, who frankly are just naturally more crabby, set in their views and their vision and what they want and expect from others is in tunnel vision.
Yes, privacy is important but these old bags on there are so closed up and private there is no way of really connecting with them or even feeling that they are real people on the other end.
Most of the time you will never get the chance, because bans and kicks are easily incoming, and you can find yourself quite jaded on an encounter and wonder what you did wrong, other than find someone and say hello.
Even the days of going to a public sandbox and all of it's hijinx, people are off hiding amongst themselves hard to get them started.
SL still is fun, but the old bats are turning it into a retirement home.
VR Chat is appealing to the younger set, and we'll see how that works out.