Vrse renames itself 'Within' to shed VR tether

Vrse, the company that focuses on VR content, has decided to rename itself for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that its new name "Within" is easier to spell and search for online. According to company CEO Chris Milk, people who had only heard the company's then-name Vrse didn't know how it was spelled and couldn't find it online. Those who only knew it by its text name weren't sure how to pronounce it. "Turns out," he said, "these are not great features for a company name."

Milk announced the name change in a long post on Medium this evening, explaining that the name change is about more than just simplicity. The original name, Vrse, was created to point toward its VR underpinnings — hence the heavy focus on the "VR" part of the name. That could be a problem at some point in the future, though.

"We thought we were being oh-so-clever to remove a vowel and place the letters V and R right next to each other in our name. VRse," said Milk. The name would perhaps be limiting, though, and Milk explained, "tying our brand to "virtual reality," a phrase we may not even use in ten years, seems inadvisable."

The name has already changed on the company's website, and if you use the mobile/VR apps, you'll probably notice the change, too; if not, expect it any time now. The geometric icon is remaining, though, so hopefully users won't be too confused when 'Vrse' is suddenly replaced with 'Within.'

SOURCE: Medium