Meta Developers

Enhance presence and immersion with Meta Avatars SDK. Give users a unique sense of self with advanced body tracking and modularized full-bodied torsos.

Version 35.0.0 Release Notes

We are excited to announce several updates to our SDK in this official release, focusing on a major avatar editor update and improving stability on all the changes made in the previous preview releases.
Important Avatars Editor Update
For applications that deeplink to the Avatars Editor, it is necessary to update to v35 for two reasons:

The current method of deeplinking to the Avatars Editor is currently set for deprecation in approximately June 2025. The method used to call the Avatars Editor is being removed from the OS in a future update, and v35 updates the SDK to call an updated route. Calls via the previous route will become a noop and no editor will appear. Updating now is recommended to prevent any issues due to the deprecation.
Without the v35 update, the Avatars Editor is locked to Style 1.0 when linked from an application. The v35 update sends additional flags that enable the Style 2.0 Avatars Editor to be launched from applications.

To update, use the following function when you wish to call the editor

`AvatarEditorDeeplink.LaunchAvatarEditor();`
It was removed in a previous version last year, but has returned. For developers that have been using the v35 Previews, it is still required to update to v35 as it has been updated to accommodate the deprecation mentioned in bullet point 1.
Improved Rig Visualization
Visualizing and debugging the animation rig has been a challenging task, particularly when playing animations. To address this issue, we have made significant modifications to the RigVisualizerUtility. This utility can now be easily attached to any rig, providing improved visualization capabilities within the editor.
Furthermore, with the Enable Debug Rig Visual option in the OvrAvatarAnimationBehavior, both default and custom animation rigs will automatically have the RigVisualizerUtility attached. This enhancement enables better visualization and debugging of the animation rig, streamlining the development process.
Direct Avatar Manipulation with Custom Animation Rig
Our custom animation feature enables running of any unity humanoid animation on the Meta Avatar. The same setup with slight modification would also allow direct manipulation of the avatar through the custom animation rig. This can be done by disabling the animator attached to the Humanoid Avatar Rig Variant prefab and then manipulating the humanoid rig directly at real time.
Avatar Joints Override
To allow for more direct control over the placement of an avatar’s feet when using OvrAvatarAnimationBehavior, we’ve added a new feature called Joint Overrides. These allow you to specify a Transform that will override the position and orientation of a joint, allowing you to control exactly where it’s positioned. Currently, we provide joint overrides for the left and right ankles, and they can be individually controlled. When a joint override is enabled, the joint will smoothly transition into the overridden pose, and you can use the JointOverrideTransitionTime property to control how long the transition takes. For best results, the Transform should be relative to the GameObject the OvrAvatarAnimationBehavior is assigned to. Please note that the joint overrides are followed strictly by the SDK, and as such it is possible to cause the legs of the avatar to stretch or bend in potentially unrealistic ways when using them. For an example of how to use the joint overrides, please refer to the new LocomotionJointOverridesExample scene.
Animation Playback on Local Avatar
In previous updates, when using OvrAvatarAnimationBehavior the locomotion animations would not be played on the local avatar, as it can feel incorrect when viewed from first person, and lead to a sense of disembodiment. However, there are situations where it is useful to be able to have the locomotion animations viewable on the local avatar, and so we’ve added a new EnableLocalAnimationPlayback property to OvrAvatarAnimationBehavior. When toggled on, the locomotion animations will play on the local avatar exactly the same way they do on remote avatars. In most cases this should not be enabled (and it is off by default), but the option is now available for use.

For an example of this feature in action, the LocalAvatar in the new LocomotionJointOverridesExample scene has EnableLocalAnimationPlayback toggled on. This allows you to see how the joint overrides affect the avatar without needing any remote avatars or the NetworkLoopbackManager that is used in the LegsNetworkLoopback scene.
Issues with Upper Body and Head Orientation in Multiple Avatars Scenario
We previously encountered a problem where multiple local avatars in the same scene would have their upper body and head orientations influenced by the headset's orientation. This was undesirable as it could interfere with networked input or custom animations controlling those avatars. We have successfully resolved this issue, ensuring that local avatars are no longer affected by the headset's orientation.
Elbow and Wrist Pose Fixes for Custom Animation
We've resolved an issue with elbow and wrist poses not matching custom animations on Avatars. Elbows and wrists should now closely track the custom animation, even when influenced by parametric body shape.
Default/Custom Animation Transition Distortion
Previously, animation transitions between default and custom animations resulted in leg distortion. This issue is now fixed.
Resolving Avatar Issues with Meta XR Core SDK Multiplayer Building Blocks
Several reports have been filed regarding avatars not functioning correctly with multiplayer building blocks in the Meta XR Core SDK. These issues include:
Avatars failing to load properly
Avatars becoming stuck in place after joining a room
Head orientation not being represented accurately

The underlying causes of these problems have been addressed in v35. To set up a networked avatar experience using Core SDK multiplayer building blocks, follow these steps:
Update SDKs: Upgrade to Meta XR Core SDK v72 and Meta Avatar SDK v35.
Configure Network Avatar: Follow the Meta XR Building Blocks flow to configure the network avatar using either Photon Fusion or Unity NGO network stack.
Locate Networked Avatar GameObject: Once the networking GameObjects are added to the scene, find the [Building Block] Networked Avatar GameObject. This object has an AvatarSDK GameObject as its child, which contains a component called EntityInputManager.
Replace EntityInputManager: Replace the EntityInputManager with the SampleInputManager, and then set the Body Tracking Mode to None.
Adjust Preloaded Sample Avatar Size: Find the corresponding network spawner class in your project:
For Photon Fusion, use AvatarSpawnFusion.
For Unity NGO, use AvatarSpawnNGO.

Both classes have a preloadedSampleAvatarSize property that needs to be adjusted to reflect the actual preset avatars included in the Avatar SDK. There are 32 presets shipped with Avatar SDK v35, but this number is configurable through the preset selector and should match the value set for preloadedSampleAvatarSize.