UploadVR

UploadVR
Information
Type	Website
Industry	Online media, Virtual reality, Augmented reality
Founded	2014
Founder	Taylor Freeman, Will Mason, Nick St. Pierre
Headquarters	United States
Website	https://www.uploadvr.com

UploadVR is an American online news publication that covers the Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality industries, reporting on headsets, games, software, and the companies and researchers working in the field. It was founded in 2014 by Taylor Freeman, Will Mason, and Nick St. Pierre, originally as part of a broader company that also ran VR events and a coworking and incubator space in San Francisco.

The parent company shut down its offices and coworking spaces in March 2018 after running out of funding, but the news site continued to operate under a separate entity, UVR Media, LLC. Along with Road to VR, it is one of the long-running dedicated VR and AR news outlets, and it runs a recurring online games event, the UploadVR Showcase.

History

Founding

UploadVR grew out of a Bay Area virtual reality meetup that Taylor Freeman started after Facebook acquired Oculus VR in 2014, motivated by a desire to try VR for the first time. Freeman and Will Mason expanded the idea into a company that combined consumer-facing VR demo events, a coworking and incubator space for VR startups, and a news website. Mason, who had no prior journalism background, took on the site's editorial side and began writing about VR for it, increasing from a few posts a week to one to three pieces of content a day as the audience grew. The company was founded in 2014 by Freeman, Mason, and Nick St. Pierre; St. Pierre left the company in early 2016, while Freeman and Mason continued as chief executive officer and president respectively.

In its early period UploadVR was structured as a startup with venture backing. At the time of a 2017 lawsuit its investors were reported to include General Catalyst, Greycroft, and the Japanese company Colopl, and co-founders Mason and Freeman had been named to a Forbes "30 Under 30" list.

2017 lawsuit

In May 2017 a former employee, Elizabeth Scott, who had worked as director of digital and social media, filed a lawsuit against the company alleging gender discrimination, sexual harassment, and wrongful termination. The complaint described a workplace centered on sex, including a room referred to internally as a "kink room," and alleged pay disparities and that female employees were assigned menial tasks. Co-founders Mason and Freeman initially called the allegations "entirely without merit." The case was settled in September 2017, and several employees left the company around that time. By that point the company had rebranded from UploadVR, Inc. to Upload, Inc. and had opened a larger office and coworking space in the Los Angeles area, with "UploadVR" retained as the name of its media arm.

2018 shutdown and continuation of the website

In March 2018 Upload, Inc. closed its San Francisco office and its roughly 20,000 square foot Los Angeles coworking space and laid off its remaining staff, after the funding that had been keeping the business running was depleted. Reporting at the time, which the company disputed, said that Oculus co-founder Palmer Luckey had personally invested as much as 2.5 million US dollars in the company. The events, coworking, and incubator side of the business did not survive the shutdown, but the UploadVR news site continued. Operation of the website passed to a newly incorporated company, UVR Media, LLC, which has run it since.

Coverage and operations

UploadVR describes itself as publishing news, reviews, and analysis from the VR and AR industry, covering hardware and software releases as well as the developers and researchers working on the technology. Its day-to-day output includes coverage of platforms such as the Meta Quest line, SteamVR, and PlayStation VR2, hardware reviews, and recurring features such as monthly lists of new and upcoming VR game releases.

As of 2026 the masthead listed David Heaney as editor and developer, Kyle Riesenbeck as operations manager, and several writers and video producers, in addition to a roster of freelance contributors. Earlier editorial leadership included Ian Hamilton, who was the site's editor-in-chief for several years.

UploadVR Showcase

UploadVR runs an online video showcase that premieres VR game trailers and announcements. The first edition was held in June 2020, originally framed as an E3 VR Showcase and produced remotely with hosts appearing together in a virtual space because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The event has since become a recurring format, with editions held in June and December. The Summer 2026 edition took place on June 12, 2026, and featured more than 30 VR and mixed reality announcements.

AI authorship dispute (2026)

In late January 2026 the site became the subject of an industry debate over the use of AI-generated articles. Editor-in-chief Ian Hamilton said he was fired on January 28, 2026, after objecting to a plan to test a "clearly disclosed AI author" that would turn press releases into articles. Hamilton said he had pushed for safeguards, including keeping such articles short, letting readers opt out of AI-written content, and giving human freelancers first refusal on assignments, and that he sent an email raising his concerns to colleagues and industry contacts when those discussions did not change the plan. David Heaney, identified as a leader of the initiative, publicly disputed Hamilton's account as incomplete.