Vivox


Vivox, Inc provides managed communication services in the form of integrated voice chat, Instant Messaging to online games, virtual worlds and other online communities with the slogan, "Communication is Critical". It is headquartered in Framingham, Massachusetts, United States.

History

Vivox was founded by Jeff Pulver in 2005. On September 19, 2005 Vivox announced that they had received $6 million in venture capital funding from Canaan Partners and GrandBanks Capital.
On November 13, 2007 Vivox announced that they had secured $7.8 million in series B financing. The B round financing was led by Benchmark Capital and supported by existing investors Canaan Partners and GrandBanks Capital. With the support of Benchmark Capital, former CEO of JAMDAT Mobile, Mitch Lasky was added to the Vivox board of directors.
On February 2, 2010 Vivox announced that they had raised $6.8 Million in funding for their C round. The round was led by IDG Ventures and included follow on investment from existing investors, Benchmark Capital, Canaan Partners and GrandBanks Capital. In addition IDG Ventures, Managing Director, Phil Sanderson joined the Vivox Board.

Major Announcements

On May 10, 2006 CCP Games and Vivox announced that EVE Online players would have real-time, in-game voice communication as the result of an agreement between the two companies. Vivox provided CCP with an integrated solution that allows players to speak with each other in-game, create audio conference channels for their gang, corporation or alliance.
On February 27, 2007, Vivox announced a partnership with Linden Lab and that they would provide integrated voice communications to the Second Life Grid. This included spatial audio that allows residents to hear each other based on their positions. This technology was licensed from DiamondWare Technologies.
During the 2008 Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, California, Vivox announced a partnership with Sony Online Entertainment. The agreement between the two companies brought integrated voice chat into all existing and planned SOE products including SOE's out of game communication application, Station Launcher. At this point the SOE games that include Vivox Voice are: EverQuest, APB, EverQuest 2, Star Wars Galaxies, and Planetside 2.
On May 13, 2008 Vivox and NCsoft announced a partnership that would bring voice to the NCsoft player community.
September 16, 2008 it was announced that Vivox would provide voice technology for 38 Studios upcoming MMO.
March 24, 2009 Vivox and Real Time Worlds declared that Vivox would provide voice for Real Time Worlds' MMO, APB. To be included in this integration is use of Vivox's spatial 3D voice capabilities.
Vivox provided its software for Epic Games' Fortnite Battle Royale on the Nintendo Switch, which otherwise lacked a voice chat function without using the Nintendo Switch Online companion phone app. Vivox' software provided a direct voice chat solution that also support cross-platform communications. Vivox announced in February 2019 it will provide its software development kit for Switch voice chat so that other games can take advantage of this approach.

Controversy

Vivox has encountered reprisals from the Linux community for encouraging game developers to drop Linux support, rather than making their software compatible with Linux. A developer for Alderon Games, working on the MMO dinosaur game Path of Titans, received this reply when they asked about paying them to add Linux support:

Integrations

Online Games and Virtual Worlds

Known integrations of Vivox's communications platform in online games and virtual worlds.
CompanyProductStatus
505 GamesHawkenLive
Bigpoint GamesBigpointN/A
Blizzard EntertainmentOverwatchLive
BlueholePlayerUnknown's BattlegroundsLive
BlueholeTERAN/A
CCP GamesEVE OnlineLive
CCP GamesDust 514Live
Cryptic StudiosNeverwinterLive
Cryptic StudiosStar Trek OnlineLive
Crytek'N/A
CrytekWarfaceN/A
CyberSportsFootball SuperstarsLive
Daybreak Game CompanyDC Universe OnlineLive
Daybreak Game CompanyEverQuestLive
Daybreak Game CompanyEverQuest IILive
Daybreak Game Company'Live
Daybreak Game Company'Live
Daybreak Game CompanyPlanetSide 2Live
Electronic ArtsCommand & Conquer 4Live
Epic GamesFortniteLive
Epic GamesParagonN/A
Epic GamesUnreal EngineN/A
Epic GamesUnreal TournamentN/A
Gaia OnlinezOMG!Removed
Gaijin EntertainmentWar ThunderLive
Grey BoxDreadnoughtN/A
Hi-Rez StudiosGlobal AgendaLive
Hi-Rez StudiosPaladinsLive
Hi-Rez StudiosSmiteLive
Icarus StudiosFallen EarthLive
IMVUIMVURemoved
Linden LabSecond LifeLive
Mail.ruAllods OnlineN/A
Mail.ruSkyforgeN/A
MetaversumTwinityLive
MotigaGiganticN/A
Nexon CorporationCombat ArmsRemoved
NexonWar RockN/A
Obsidian EntertainmentArmored WarfareN/A
Perfect WorldArc ClientLive
Piranah GamesMechWarrior OnlineRemoved
Red DuckAlliance of Valiant ArmsN/A
Red DuckMetro ConflictN/A
Reloaded Productions'Early Release
Riot GamesLeague of LegendsLive
Riot GamesValorantLive
Runewaker EntertainmentRunes of MagicLive
WargamingWorld of Tankssince 0.7.5
WargamingWorld of WarshipsLive
Wizards of the CoastDungeons & Dragons InsiderN/A
ZeniMax Online StudiosThe Elder Scrolls OnlineLive

Middleware Platforms

Known middleware integrations of Vivox's communications platform.
CompanyProduct
BigWorld TechnologyBigWorld Technology Suite
Icarus StudiosIcarus Developer Tools Suite
Monumental GamesMonumental Technology Suite
Multiverse NetworkMultiverse Platform
SimutronicsHeroEngine

Other Products

C3 - Command, Control, Communicate

C3 is a standalone voice-over-Internet-Protocol client where computer users are able to connect and speak with fellow computer users. C3 allows users to chat both through text and voice by creating chat channels with a maximum capacity of 100 users in each channel.
The target audience of C3 is gamers who can use the software to communicate with other gamers among the same guild, team, clan, etc. on an online multiplayer game. Voice communication allows for players to use teamwork to their advantage while creating a sense of online community.