News

A New Virtual Era Emerges as Microsoft Shifts 3D Meetings to Teams, Retiring Mesh Platform

• By Chris Paoli
• December 04, 2025

Microsoft has officially said goodbye to its standalone Mesh platform on December 1, integrating its 3D meeting functionality directly into Microsoft Teams via a newly launched immersive events feature. This marks a strategic pivot from maintaining a separate mixed-reality platform to enhancing a widely adopted collaboration tool.

With immersive events now generally available in Teams, organizations can create branded, avatar-based 3D experiences without relying on separate apps or setups. The feature works within the Teams calendar, supports major desktops including Windows, macOS and Meta Quest headsets, and includes tools for adding 3D content, multimedia and animations—no coding required. Common templates for ease of access during meetings and training events are also available.

A new Action Groups capability lets presenters trigger animations, play media or switch visual elements during an event. According to Microsoft, "Immersive events can help drive enhanced engagement and connection for your workforce across multiple points of interest in a single branded event with a tailored experience -- ideal for all hands, showcases, company events, new employee onboarding, and trainings."

Hosting immersive events requires both a commercial Teams license and a Teams Premium subscription for the organizer. Attendees and co-organizers can join with standard Microsoft 365 E3 or E5 licensing. Organizations already using Teams Premium for features such as intelligent meeting recaps or advanced meeting protection will see immersive events included under their existing plans.

The move comes less than two years after Microsoft positioned Mesh as a major step in its collaboration strategy. Mesh, introduced in 2021, supported large-scale 3D environments built in Unity and allowed up to 330 participants. Immersive meetings in Teams currently support up to 16 participants in standard sessions.

Microsoft has been reducing its metaverse-focused initiatives over the past two years, including ending development of HoloLens hardware and discontinuing its related Army contract in 2024. With Mesh retired, its functionality now appears as a Teams meeting feature rather than a standalone platform.

For administrators, the migration relies on existing Microsoft 365 identity, security and compliance controls. Meta Quest devices can be enrolled through standard mobile device management for enterprise access.

Organizations using Mesh must transition their experiences to Teams. As of Dec. 1, Mesh apps for PC and Quest no longer operate, the mesh.cloud.microsoft site has been removed and the Immersive space (3D) view in Teams meetings is no longer available.

Creating an immersive event in Teams involves selecting New event in the Teams calendar, choosing Immersive event and customizing the space before sending invitations.

Industry adoption will depend on whether organizations choose to license Teams Premium and whether 3D environments meet their collaboration needs compared with traditional video meetings.