Basis is a framework, not a platform. We aim to put powerful VR building blocks in everyone’s hands without lock-in.
Basis is a foundation for your VR project.
If you have an idea for a VR application but are overwhelmed by the massive amount of work it takes to support VR, look no further. We cover the basics for you: XR input, audio, player controller, networking, asset bundle loading, and more.
Framework = a set of Unity/C# libraries and a demo showing how components fit together. Built with URP, targeting IL2CPP.
It focuses on the three building blocks of good VR:
Basis survives thanks to a mix of community donations and collaborations with companies who build products on top of the framework. By bundling funds from multiple organizations, we tackle hard problems that benefit everyone: examples include work like the jiggle system and QUIC integration.
Today, Dooly works full-time on Basis, and donations directly support their livelihood and the project’s momentum.
Basis is operated by the Pillars, trusted contributors who keep the effort on the narrow straight, ensuring the project stays aligned and does not get derailed.
Not every project needs to be designed with multiplayer in mind, but every project that transitions from a standalone to a networked experience can benefit from having networked primitives available to them from the start. Basis offers best-in-class networking support, so you don’t have to stitch together disparate systems.
We are designing towards more modularity, but stand strongly behind our own XR system over alternatives such as XR Interaction Toolkit. It’s built with real, hard-won experience from testing against a wide range of hardware.
We want Basis to be modular so teams can adopt individual parts (e.g., networking, embodiment) alongside other stacks. This is a roadmap goal, not fully realized yet.
The usual stack available to VR developers focuses on wiring up controllers, but offers very little direct help to fully realize virtual environments.
We offer tools to help unify the next layer of VR interaction. Concretely this means we provide an avatar system and object interaction system as basic building blocks for the VR experience.
In essence, we frame this value in terms of three things we feel are necessary for virtual environments:
Our north star is maximizing creator agency and freedom. We are committed to remaining open-source and unrestricted: we want to enable people to build to the limits of their imagination.
Basis reduces foundational lift so you can spend time on craft, not scaffolding.
We’re building Basis to maximize creative freedom. By keeping the framework open and moving toward modular boundaries, we empower developers and communities to build without lock-in or creative compromise.
The future of VR isn't just about the enabling technology. Immersive and interesting experiences are better when they are experienced with other people. To that end, we provide not just the the mechanisms to create or consume these experiences, but to share them as well.
Basis is not a Social VR platform. It includes useful primitives, but the core project is not intended to create the sort of scalable social infrastructure that Social VR platforms require. It does not specifically obstruct creators who wish to create their own, but the project itself ships frameworks and demos.
“If you want to appeal beyond a niche, you need brand-conscious messaging… the future of VR is social and cultural.”
“It’s okay to be truthful about one’s role. Your product can be good for the industry and still compete for developer attention.”
“People think Basis is a platform because tests run on servers. Keep a hard focus on it being a framework.”
“Basis should stay a framework—what creators need most are tools.”
“Basis should always be easy for users to get their avatars in.”
Unity/C# libraries (MIT) that provide networking, embodiment, spatialization, and core VR utilities. Intended to become increasingly unopinionated over time.
A neutral example scene showcasing usable features (spawning props, sync’d interactions, avatar basics) for museums, dataviz, theater, enterprise, and “serious” applications. In development.
An experimental client we’ll use to collaborate and strain-test features (successor to today’s ad-hoc tests). Not the public-facing showcase, and may change rapidly. In development.
We may split code into distinct repositories for clarity (Framework ↔ Showroom ↔ Testbed) while keeping example/demo code easy to find.
A short doc that gets you from clone → open project → press Play in an example scene with callouts on where the magic lives.
We aim to ship Basis modules as Unity packages so you can adopt parts (e.g., networking) without pulling in the whole stack.
Basis is a whitelabel, self-hostable VR framework built for flexibility. You can fully rebrand and customize it into your own dedicated VR space, whether that’s a cozy single venue for social hangouts or a large-scale multiplayer world. Player assets remain compatible across instances, giving developers the tools to launch thriving, interconnected creative ecosystems.
Basis has already shown high concurrency performance in single-instance environments through extensive community load testing. Ongoing stress sessions ensure we continue to raise the bar for what’s possible in networked VR.
Our chat-and-chill load tests bring together developers, creators, and curious explorers to socialize, collaborate, and push concurrency limits. These events are equal parts fun and crucial for stress-testing Basis at scale, helping us prepare for the next generation of networked VR.
Interested in joining? Basis isn’t publicly available on Steam yet, but you can request a key from our admin team in Discord. Once approved, download the Basis project on Steam and connect with our community for onboarding, support, and avatar porting assistance for Unity-based assets.
Our intent is to avoid centralized chokepoints. You should be able to host your own services and choose discovery approaches that fit your needs.
We’re exploring discovery with other contrib files and community input. The long-term direction is federation and shared aggregation—work in progress.
Our goal is documented protocols and minimal client assumptions so different apps can participate. Aspirational; not fully implemented.
No. Basis is a framework, a set of libraries and a demo you can extend. You can build a platform with it, but Basis itself does not operate one.
We currently recommend our own XR system as the default. Broader modularity to mix-and-match with other stacks is a roadmap goal.
Absolutely. The demo is intentionally neutral and swappable. Use your own avatars, spaces, and style to match your audience.
Through community donations (OpenCollective) and companies funding shared infrastructure. Donations currently support a full-time maintainer (Dooly).
Basis is operated by the Pillars, trusted contributors who keep the project focused and aligned.
Use the framework. Keep your freedom. Grow with us.
