Ignite 2023: Microsoft Mesh and Immersive Spaces in Teams to Launch in January

Microsoft announced at its Ignite conference this morning that Microsoft Mesh and Immersive spaces in Teams, which are currently in public preview, will become generally available in January 2024. Immersive spaces allow Teams users to turn meetings into a 3D experience where participants appear as a 3D avatar.

As of today, Immersive spaces are only available in the classic version of Microsoft Teams for Windows, and the experience also supports VR headsets. Microsoft is working to bring this experience to the new Teams desktop app, which became available for all Windows and Mac users last month.

Immersive spaces in Teams is a feature that’s powered by Microsoft Mesh, which is a separate 3D immersive experience that’s been in public preview since last month. Mesh is currently available on PCs and Meta Quest VR headsets, and it’s pretty much Microsoft’s version of the metaverse, a concept that really started to lose its steam now that ChatGPT and generative AI have become the tech industry’s latest obsession.

Microsoft Mesh allows organizations to create 3D spaces for virtual meetings and other events. Microsoft emphasized that event creators can customize immersive spaces without writing a line of code and create templates for future events. However, customization options will require a Teams Premium subscription.

Microsoft made many other announcements at its Ignite conference this morning, and many of them are AI and cloud-related. You can catch up on the biggest news on our dedicated page.