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Within

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Within
Information
VR/AR VR
Developer Within Unlimited, Inc.
Publisher Within Unlimited, Inc.
Platform SteamVR, Oculus Rift (Platform)
Device HTC Vive, Oculus Rift CV1
Operating System Windows
Type Software
Genre Utilities, VR
Input Device Tracked motion controllers, Gamepad, Keyboard / Mouse
Play Area Seated
Language English
Review Mixed
Release Date Jun 16, 2016
Price Free
App Store Steam
Website http://with.in
Infobox Updated 09/15/2016

Within (legally Within Unlimited, Inc., originally named Vrse) was a Los Angeles immersive media company co-founded by director Chris Milk and technologist Aaron Koblin, acquired by Meta Platforms in 2023. It is also the name of the company's free app for cinematic virtual reality, which distributed 360-degree films, documentaries, music videos and animation on mobile phones and VR headsets from 2015 until February 2023.[1][2] WPP's 2017 investment announcement and Within's own press releases give 2014 as the founding year; TechCrunch's 2021 report on the company's sale gave 2015.[1][3][4]

The company first became known for 360-degree productions such as Clouds Over Sidra for the United Nations and The Displaced for The New York Times Magazine. It later made multiplayer VR pieces, the augmented reality reading app Wonderscope, and in 2020 the subscription fitness service Supernatural for the Oculus Quest.[2][3] Meta agreed to buy Within in October 2021. The United States Federal Trade Commission sued to block the deal in July 2022, lost its bid for a preliminary injunction in January 2023, and Meta closed the acquisition on 8 February 2023.[4][5][6] The Within app shut down that month so that the team could work only on Supernatural.[2]

Reviewed 6 October 2026. Company history, funding, productions, Within app platforms and closure, Meta acquisition and FTC case dates, and 2026 Supernatural status checked against the cited Within, FTC, Steam, press and court-analysis sources. About review dates.

History

Vrse (2014-2016)

In January 2015 the artist and director Chris Milk announced a virtual reality production company called VRSE.works with the producers Patrick Milling Smith and Brian Carmody. Oculus product lead Joseph Chen joined it as executive technical producer. Fast Company reported at the time that Milk's earlier music-driven VR piece for Lincoln, Hello Again, had led to the venture.[7] Engadget described VRSE as a production operation partnered with Annapurna Pictures.[8] Within's farewell letter says that the Within app was "originally called VRSE".[2] Variety later described VRSE and VRSE.works as sister companies.[9]

VRSE's first titles were shown in January 2015. Evolution of Verse, a 3.5-minute computer-generated 3D film made with Digital Domain, was shown in the New Frontier program of the 2015 Sundance Film Festival on Samsung Gear VR and Google Cardboard viewers.[7][8] Fast Company reported that the company's new VR app would launch at Sundance and on iTunes.[7] Clouds Over Sidra, created by Milk and United Nations senior advisor Gabo Arora, follows a 12-year-old girl in Jordan's Za'atari refugee camp, which then housed 84,000 Syrian refugees. It was made by the UN Millennium Campaign, UNICEF Jordan, Samsung, Milk and VRSE.works, and premiered at a UN event at the World Economic Forum in Davos. After screenings at Sundance and TEDx it was shown to delegates at the Third International Humanitarian Pledging Conference for Syria in Kuwait in March 2015.[7][10] VRSE also made a Vice News VR piece about the Millions March NYC 2014 protest, a collaboration between Milk and Spike Jonze according to Fast Company, which Engadget described as the first virtual reality news broadcast.[7][8] In March 2015 Milk gave the TED2015 talk "How virtual reality can create the ultimate empathy machine".[11]

Two larger partnerships followed in the autumn of 2015. In October, Vrse and Milk released a 360-degree music video for U2's "Song for Someone" made with Apple Music. It played in the Vrse app on iOS, Android, the Gear VR store and through the Google Cardboard app, with or without a Cardboard viewer.[12][13] The New York Times Magazine made its first VR film, The Displaced, about three children uprooted by war in South Sudan, eastern Ukraine and Syria, with Vrse and IM360. The Times released it in its new NYT VR app in November 2015 and sent more than one million Google Cardboard viewers to home-delivery subscribers.[14] The company hired former Rdio chief executive Drew Larner as its chief operating officer in October 2015.[9]

Rename to Within and venture funding (2016-2017)

On 16 June 2016 Vrse renamed itself Within and announced a US$12.56 million Series A round. Andreessen Horowitz led the round, which also included 21st Century Fox, Raine Ventures, WME, Live Nation, Vice Media, Tribeca Enterprises, Annapurna Pictures, Legendary Pictures and Elisabeth Murdoch's Freelands Ventures.[9][15] Milk explained the change by saying that "tying our brand to 'virtual reality', a phrase we may not even use in ten years, seems inadvisable."[16] Co-founder and chief technology officer Aaron Koblin told Variety that VR was often associated with gaming, which was not Within's focus: "For us, it's very much about immersive storytelling." Within had 19 employees at the time and said it would invest more in mobile VR.[9]

Within raised a US$40 million Series B round in July 2017, led by Temasek and Emerson Collective, with WPP and Macro Ventures as new investors and Andreessen Horowitz, 21st Century Fox and Raine Ventures returning. The Hollywood Reporter put the company's total funding at US$56.6 million.[17] In announcing its stake, WPP described Within as based in Los Angeles with an office in San Francisco and more than 35 employees. It listed Apple, The New York Times, NBC Universal, Vice, 21st Century Fox and Alphabet among Within's partners and content collaborators.[1]

Interactive VR and AR projects (2017-2019)

From 2017 Within moved beyond 360-degree video into real-time, multi-user pieces. Life of Us, created by Milk and Koblin, premiered in the New Frontier program at Sundance in 2017. It was Within's first real-time rendered, interactive experience: participants embody a series of characters that evolve into humans, and each new character changes the modulation of their voices as they talk to each other.[18] It was produced with Megan Ellison's Annapurna Pictures, scored by Pharrell Williams and was later shown at IMAX VR centres through a partnership with IMAX.[17] Engadget played the two-person version on the HTC Vive at the Tribeca Film Festival's VR arcade in April 2017.[19]

Chorus, a multiplayer music video for the electronic duo Justice created by Tyler Hurd as a Within Original in association with Annapurna Pictures, premiered in Sundance's New Frontier section and then ran at SXSW in March 2018.[20] Lambchild Superstar: Making Music in the Menagerie of the Holy Cow, in which pairs of participants make music together, was conceived by Milk and OK Go's Damian Kulash, developed by Horizon Studio and Within with Oculus as a collaborator, and shown in the Virtual Arcade at the 2018 Tribeca Festival.[21]

Within released Wonderscope, its first augmented reality product, on 14 November 2018. The free iOS app for children used Apple's ARKit to place story characters in the reader's room and voice recognition to advance the story when the child read lines aloud. It launched with one free story and further titles at US$4.99 each, on the iPhone 6S or newer, 2017 iPad or newer and iPad Pro.[22] According to Within, Wonderscope later won a Children's BAFTA in 2019 and a Kidscreen Award for Best Original Learning App in 2020.[3]

Supernatural and the Meta acquisition (2020-2023)

Within launched Supernatural for the Oculus Quest on 23 April 2020. The company called it the first subscription-based, full-body fitness service for VR; after a 30-day free trial, founding members paid US$19 per month.[3] Within's farewell letter says the idea came from watching people leave its interactive VR and AR pieces "sweaty and laughing".[2]

Meta announced on 29 October 2021, the day after Facebook renamed itself Meta, that it had agreed to acquire Within. Terms were not disclosed. Supernatural was to operate inside Meta's Reality Labs division with its coaches, choreographers and managers retained.[4] Road to VR, citing Bloomberg, reported the deal's value as US$400 million.[23]

On 27 July 2022 the Federal Trade Commission voted 3-2 to seek a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California against Meta Platforms, Mark Zuckerberg and Within Unlimited. The agency alleged harm to competition in a market for VR dedicated fitness apps and in the wider market for VR fitness apps. The Bureau of Competition's deputy director, John Newman, said that "Meta is trying to buy its way to the top".[5] The FTC filed a matching administrative complaint on 11 August 2022.[24]

Judge Edward J. Davila denied the preliminary injunction in an order entered on 31 January 2023.[6] The court accepted the FTC's proposed market of VR dedicated fitness apps and accepted that the agency's potential-competition theories could support a case. It found, however, that the FTC had not shown Meta had the "available feasible means" to enter that market on its own, noting that Meta lacked fitness content and studio production capabilities.[25] The FTC decided on 6 February not to appeal, and the transaction closed on 8 February 2023.[6] The administrative case was withdrawn from adjudication on 10 February and the complaint was dismissed on 24 February 2023.[24]

Within app closure and later events

In a letter on its website, signed by Milk and Koblin as co-founders, Within said that the Within app would shut down as of February 2023 and that the team would "focus exclusively on building Supernatural". The letter states that the app had launched on 10 different VR headset platforms and been used by millions of people. Viewers were directed to Within's YouTube VR channel, where many of the stories would remain "as a historical archive".[2] As of October 2026 the Steam store marks the app as no longer available.[26]

On 13 January 2026 UploadVR reported that, according to a post in the official Supernatural community group on Facebook, Supernatural would no longer receive new content or feature updates.[27] On 3 June 2026 a new independent company, Supernatural Health, announced that it would take over the service.[28] Its FAQ says the company is formed by "the original founders and coaches, along with a small core team", that it aims to relaunch the VR app in fall 2026, and that Meta will issue a prorated refund around 3 December 2026 for annual plans that run past that date.[29] In August 2026 the new app could be wishlisted on the Meta Horizon Store; Meta's version was renamed Supernatural - Legacy Edition and is to remain available until 3 December 2026. As of that report the new app had no release date beyond fall 2026.[30]

Within app

The Within app was a free player for curated 360-degree video and computer-generated VR stories, with no charges or advertising. Users could stream titles or download them for higher resolution. The Steam listing, titled Within VR - Cinematic Virtual Reality, described the catalogue as VR documentaries, animation, music videos and horror selected from independent creators, studios and film festivals, and stated that it was not an interactive VR game.[26] On 12 January 2017 Within began releasing The Possible, a five-part series about scientific and technical innovation directed by David Gelb and funded by General Electric, with additional funding from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation; The Hollywood Reporter named Here Be Dragons as Within's production arm providing production support.[31] Within called it its first original series.[32] The Steam version holds a "Mixed" user rating, with 53% of 81 reviews positive.[26]

Platform Availability Source
iOS, Android and Samsung Gear VR (as the Vrse app) By October 2015 [13]
Oculus Rift and HTC Vive 16 June 2016 [9]
Steam (Windows) Released 16 June 2016; no longer available as of October 2026 [26]
PlayStation VR Listed as available at launch in Sony's PlayStation VR launch lineup (October 2016) [33]

UploadVR reported in June 2016 that Within was the first 360-degree video app announced for PlayStation VR.[15]

Features

System requirements

Windows

Minimum
  • OS: Windows 7 SP1 or newer
  • Processor: Intel i5-4590 / AMD FX 8350 equivalent or greater
  • Memory: 4 GB RAM
  • Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce® GTX 970 / AMD Radeon™ R9 290 equivalent or greater
  • Network: Broadband Internet connection (minimum internet speed 8 Mbps)
  • Storage: 125 MB available space
Recommended
  • OS: Windows 7 SP1 or newer
  • Processor: Intel i5-4590 / AMD FX 8350 equivalent or greater
  • Memory: 4 GB RAM
  • Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce® GTX 970 / AMD Radeon™ R9 290 equivalent or greater
  • Network: Broadband Internet connection (recommended internet speed 20 Mbps)
  • Storage: 125 MB available space

Notable productions

Title Year Format Notes
Evolution of Verse 2015 CGI 3D VR film 3.5 minutes; made with Digital Domain; shown at Sundance New Frontier[8]
Clouds Over Sidra 2015 360-degree documentary By Gabo Arora and Chris Milk for the UN Millennium Campaign with UNICEF Jordan and Samsung; premiered at Davos[7][10]
Song for Someone (U2) 2015 360-degree music video Made with Apple Music; distributed in the Vrse app[12]
The Displaced 2015 360-degree documentary The New York Times Magazine with Vrse and IM360; launched NYT VR[14]
The Possible 2017 360-degree series Within's first original series; five episodes directed by David Gelb[32][31]
Life of Us 2017 Multi-user real-time VR By Milk and Koblin; music by Pharrell Williams; with Annapurna Pictures; Sundance New Frontier[18][17]
Chorus 2018 Multi-user VR music video By Tyler Hurd for Justice; with Annapurna Pictures[20]
Lambchild Superstar 2018 Two-person music-making VR With OK Go's Damian Kulash and Horizon Studio; Tribeca Virtual Arcade[21]
Wonderscope 2018 AR reading app (iOS) Launch stories A Brief History of Stunts by Astounding People and Little Red the Inventor[22]
Supernatural 2020 VR fitness subscription Oculus Quest; acquired with Within by Meta in 2023; spun out to Supernatural Health in 2026[3][6][28]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "WPP invests in VR/AR company Within Unlimited in the US". WPP. 2017-07-26. https://www.wpp.com/en/news/2017/07/wpp_invests_in_vrar_company_within_unlimited_in_the_us. Retrieved 2026-10-06.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Chris Milk, Aaron Koblin. "Within". Within. https://with.in/. Retrieved 2026-10-06.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 "Within Introduces 'Supernatural,' An In-Home VR Fitness Experience For Oculus Quest". PR Newswire. Within. 2020-04-23. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/within-introduces-supernatural-an-in-home-vr-fitness-experience-for-oculus-quest-301045925.html. Retrieved 2026-10-06.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Brian Heater (2021-10-29). "Meta (Facebook) is buying Within, creators of the Supernatural VR fitness app". TechCrunch. https://techcrunch.com/2021/10/29/meta-facebook-is-buying-within-creators-of-the-supernatural-vr-fitness-app. Retrieved 2026-10-06.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "FTC Seeks to Block Virtual Reality Giant Meta's Acquisition of Popular App Creator Within". Federal Trade Commission. 2022-07-27. https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2022/07/ftc-seeks-block-virtual-reality-giant-metas-acquisition-popular-app-creator-within. Retrieved 2026-10-06.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Jonathan Rubin (2023-02-21). "FTC Drops Challenge to Meta's Acquisition of Virtual Reality Fitness Company After Court Denies Preliminary Injunction". The National Law Review. https://natlawreview.com/article/ftc-drops-challenge-to-meta-s-acquisition-virtual-reality-fitness-company-after. Retrieved 2026-10-06.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 Jeff Beer (2015-01-23). "Director Chris Milk And Top Producers Launch New Virtual Reality Production Company". Fast Company. https://www.fastcompany.com/3041345/director-chris-milk-and-top-producers-launch-new-virtual-reality-production-company. Retrieved 2026-10-06.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 Edgar Alvarez (2015-01-24). "VRSE readies a production farm for experimental VR works". Engadget. https://www.engadget.com/2015/01/24/vrse-virtual-reality-chris-milk-sundance/. Retrieved 2026-10-06.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 Janko Roettgers (2016-06-16). "Virtual Reality Startup Vrse Rebrands As Within, Raises $12.56M from Fox, Legendary Pictures and Others". Variety. https://variety.com/2016/digital/news/vrse-within-series-a-chris-milk-1201796161. Retrieved 2026-10-06.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 "UN Agencies team up to bring voices of Syrian refugees to world leaders through Virtual Reality". OCHA. United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. 2015-03-30. https://www.unocha.org/publications/report/jordan/un-agencies-team-bring-voices-syrian-refugees-world-leaders-through-virtual-reality. Retrieved 2026-10-06.
  11. ↑ Chris Milk (March 2015). "How virtual reality can create the ultimate empathy machine". TED. https://www.ted.com/talks/chris_milk_how_virtual_reality_can_create_the_ultimate_empathy_machine. Retrieved 2026-10-06.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 "Apple and U2 experiment with virtual reality content in intimate music video". UploadVR. 2015-10-26. https://www.uploadvr.com/apple-tests-vr-vrse-partnership-u2-music-video/. Retrieved 2026-10-06.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Lucas Matney (2015-10-28). "Apple Shows Off Its First-Ever Piece Of Virtual Reality Content With U2 Music Video". TechCrunch. https://techcrunch.com/2015/10/28/apple-shows-off-its-first-ever-piece-of-virtual-reality-content. Retrieved 2026-10-06.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Mathew Ingram (2015-10-20). "New York Times partners with Google for virtual reality films". Fortune. https://fortune.com/2015/10/20/nyt-google-cardboard. Retrieved 2026-10-06.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 Jamie Feltham (2016-06-16). "One of VR's Best Storytellers has a New Name and a Lot More Funding". UploadVR. https://www.uploadvr.com/one-vrs-best-storytellers-new-name-lot-funding/. Retrieved 2026-10-06.
  16. ↑ Paul James (2016-06-17). "'Vrse' Becomes 'Within' and Announces Over $12M in Funding". Road to VR. https://roadtovr.com/vrse-becomes-within-and-announces-over-12m-in-funding/. Retrieved 2026-10-06.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 Carolyn Giardina (2017-07-26). "Virtual and Augmented Reality Firm Within Raises $40M in Series B Funding". The Hollywood Reporter. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/virtual-augmented-reality-firm-raises-40m-series-b-funding-1024522/. Retrieved 2026-10-06.
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 Kent Bye (2017-02-14). "'Life of Us': An Embodied & Social Story of Human Evolution". Road to VR. https://www.roadtovr.com/life-of-us-an-embodied-social-story-of-human-evolution/. Retrieved 2026-10-06.
  19. ↑ Devindra Hardawar (2017-04-24). "We lived through the history of evolution in VR with 'Life of Us'". Engadget. https://www.engadget.com/2017-04-24-life-of-us-vr.html. Retrieved 2026-10-06.
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 Liz Nord (2018-03-11). "Music Videos Aren't What They Used to Be: Tyler Hurd on Exploding the Form with Social VR". No Film School. https://nofilmschool.com/2018/03/music-videos-arent-what-they-used-be-tyler-hurd-exploding-form-social-vr. Retrieved 2026-10-06.
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 "LAMBCHILD SUPERSTAR: Making Music in the Menagerie of the Holy Cow". Tribeca. https://www.tribecafilm.com/films/untitled-ok-go-within-project-2018. Retrieved 2026-10-06.
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 "Within Introduces Wonderscope, An App For Kids That Uses Augmented Reality To Transform Ordinary Spaces Into Extraordinary Stories". PR Newswire. Within. 2018-11-14. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/within-introduces-wonderscope-an-app-for-kids-that-uses-augmented-reality-to-transform-ordinary-spaces-into-extraordinary-stories-300750522.html. Retrieved 2026-10-06.
  23. ↑ Scott Hayden (2023-02-27). "Meta Wins Bid to Acquire VR Fitness Studio Behind 'Supernatural' as FTC Abandons Suit". Road to VR. https://www.roadtovr.com/report-meta-wins-ftc-acquisition-within-vr-app/. Retrieved 2026-10-06.
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 "Meta/Zuckerberg/Within, In the Matter of". Federal Trade Commission. https://www.ftc.gov/legal-library/browse/cases-proceedings/221-0040-metazuckerbergwithin-matter. Retrieved 2026-10-06.
  25. ↑ "FTC Loses Challenge to Meta-Within Deal, but Court Accepts Viability of Potential Competition Theories". Paul, Weiss. 2023-02-06. https://www.paulweiss.com/insights/client-memos/ftc-loses-challenge-to-meta-within-deal-but-court-accepts-viability-of-potential-competition-theories. Retrieved 2026-10-06.
  26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 26.2 26.3 "Within VR - Cinematic Virtual Reality on Steam". Steam. Valve. https://store.steampowered.com/app/458890/. Retrieved 2026-10-06.
  27. ↑ Ian Hamilton, David Heaney (2026-01-13). "Supernatural Will No Longer Get New Content Or Features". UploadVR. https://www.uploadvr.com/supernatural-coaches-face-same-fate-as-oculus-home-echo-arena/. Retrieved 2026-10-06.
  28. ↑ 28.0 28.1 Amanda Silberling (2026-06-03). "Meta mercifully spun out VR fitness game Supernatural instead of just killing it". TechCrunch. https://techcrunch.com/2026/06/03/meta-mercifully-spun-out-vr-fitness-game-supernatural-instead-of-just-killing-it/. Retrieved 2026-10-06.
  29. ↑ "FAQ". Supernatural. Supernatural Health. https://www.wearesupernatural.com/faq. Retrieved 2026-10-06.
  30. ↑ Craig Storm (2026-08-26). "Supernatural's New Independent App Is Now Available To Wishlist On Quest". UploadVR. https://www.uploadvr.com/supernaturals-new-independent-app-is-now-available-to-wishlist-on-quest/. Retrieved 2026-10-06.
  31. ↑ 31.0 31.1 Carolyn Giardina (2017-01-12). "Virtual Reality Firm Within Launches Its First Series". The Hollywood Reporter. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/virtual-reality-firm-launches-first-series-963786/. Retrieved 2026-10-06.
  32. ↑ 32.0 32.1 "Watch a New Episode of The Possible". Steam News. Within Unlimited. 2017-02-09. https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/458890/view/4035744538721456415. Retrieved 2026-10-06.
  33. ↑ Sid Shuman (2016-10-05). "PlayStation VR: Launch Lineup and Beyond". PlayStation Blog. Sony Interactive Entertainment. https://blog.playstation.com/2016/10/05/playstation-vr-launch-lineup-and-beyond/. Retrieved 2026-10-06.
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