Illegal pirate streaming worlds discovered on VRChat

Several "pirate streaming worlds" were discovered within VRChat, resulting in copyright violations and questions about the platform's governance.

Dutch anti-piracy organization BREIN uncovered virtual worlds dedicated to streaming pirated movies and TV shows, allowing users to watch copyrighted content through their VR headsets in simulated cinema environments.

Offering thousands of links to illegally streamed content, each of the worlds had between 1,000 to 4,000 users present simultaneously, making them some of the most popular spaces on VRChat.

In response to BREIN's takedown notices, VRChat removed the reported pirate streaming worlds.

The incident highlighted the evolving nature of piracy in virtual reality spaces and demonstrated that anti-piracy efforts are expanding to cover new technologies. It also underscores the challenges faced by VR platforms in moderating user-generated content and enforcing copyright laws in virtual environments.