25 Years of Video in 48 Hours: How LIV Brought an iPhone to the Virtual World

In 2013, Oxford Dictionaries chose “Selfie” as their word of the year, referring to a self-taken photo in the physical world.

As virtual spaces increasingly mirror the real world, the demand for tools that enable self-expression and storytelling in these digital environments has skyrocketed. This shift has given rise to innovations like the LIV Creator Kit (LCK), which empowers creators to document and share their experiences directly from virtual reality.

A decade later, we have entered the era of the virtual selfie, where people capture digital representations of themselves as in game avatars.

LIV has introduced the Unity SDK—the LIV Creator Kit (LCK)—for VR creators to document their digital lives through various camera perspectives, including selfies, drone shots, and first-person views, all managed via a digital, tablet-like interface.

This tool supports the growing trend of active gameplay over passive consumption. According to a recent report by Midia Research, gamers spend 7.4 hours weekly playing games and 8.5 hours watching gaming videos.

The early demand for LCK is already validated. So far:

• 1M videos recorded in the first 6 hours of launch, >6M within the first 48 hours
• Avg recording length is 20mins
• 25 years of video was recorded in the first 48 hours (>250k hours)

LIV’s camera system benefits both developers and creators, amplifying engagement and content opportunities. Here’s how:

Benefits for Game Developers

Developers no longer need to focus solely on in-game retention and usage. Monitoring how games are shared off-device is equally critical:

Discoverability:

Player-shared content on platforms like TikTok, Instagram, or YouTube are mission critical for game discovery, especially indie/VR titles.

Since Meta’s switch from a curated store to an open one, 3rd party reach has become even more crucial. Developers rely on their own shorts channels, and having creators distribute their message for them.

Retention and active usage doesn’t need to stop when a player logs off - watching gameplay can still drive active engagement, and keep games at the top of mind, breeding long term engagement.

Importantly, LCK also gives game developers the ability to make promotional material for their content more accessible, without any additional tooling or permissions required.

Content Creators

One of the most fascinating insights into smaller content creators is their drive for social capital as a priority over monetary gain. Developers who can offer tooling to make gaining social capital easier or with an edge are positioned for success. Creators also benefit from tools that simplify and elevate their creative process. LIV’s features empower creators to expand their creativity by capturing gameplay for unique tutorials, highlights, or entertainment pieces tailored to their audience. High-quality content enhances their chances of achieving greater reach, gaining traction, and broadening their influence. Additionally, creators can diversify their formats by producing a range of content types, from live streams to bite-sized clips, tailored to different platforms and viewer preferences.

LIV Creator Kit: Transforming Content Creation

The LIV Creator Kit (LCK) merges gaming and content creation seamlessly. As an SDK, it brings virtual camera functionality to standalone Meta Quest (as an official partnership) and PCVR applications, enabling users to capture and share their in-game moments directly from VR. A low friction integration for developers and even lower for creators is expanding the relationship between play and consumption

So far, LIV LCK is officially enabled in Gorilla Tag and Cactus Jam, and soon 90+ other VR titles. If you’re a Unity developer interested in integrating LCK into your game, check it out here. LCK for Unreal is coming in Q1 2025.

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