Somnium Space, the adult-only social VR platform, was delisted from Steam during Valve’s crypto games purge in 2021. Now, the platform is slated to return to Steam next month.
We first learned that Somnium Space was eyeing a Steam re-launch earlier this summer, as the company promised it would launch on SteamVR (incl. Steam Frame) and Steam Deck, and also eventually Apple Vision Pro too.
Now, Somnium Space’s Steam page notes it’s coming to Steam Early Access in December 2026.
The company is hosting its Somnium Connect event on November 28th, where we hope to learn more about just what’s changing, although this ostensibly means Somnium Space will be complying with Steam’s blanket ban on cryptocurrency and NFTs.
The platform was heavily involved with both starting in October 2019, when virtual land was auctioned off, and a year later when its cryptocurrency CUBE was released. Then, in 2021, Valve purged all crypto/NFT-centric games, which also meant Somnium Space would essentially attract players by funneling them to their own launcher.
Notably, Somium Space says the Steam release is slated to include the company’s signature user ID system, which ensures all users are verified as being over 18.
“Our goal is to keep the core Somnium experience accessible to everyone who meets the platform’s 18+ age requirement and completes the mandatory free age verification. We do not plan to lock core platform features behind a purchase price,” the Steam page reads, noting it’s aiming to stay in early access for the next 1-2 years.
Unlike VRChat, which is primarily built around user-created avatars and worlds, Somnium Space was founded as a persistent virtual world with a more monolithic structure. After its v3.1.6 update in July however, users can now host paid and/or private instances, allowing for things like concerts, classrooms, meetings, paid events, and moderated gatherings.
