Introducing Open Blocks!

Blocks is going open source 🎉

Hey VR creators,

Google Blocks is now open source software! We're extremely excited to announce that our fork, naturally called Open Blocks, is already in development and will be joining Open Brush in providing free XR creation tools to everyone.

Read on to hear the story so far...

A short history of Blocks

Originally developed in-house by Google, Blocks was one of the first VR-native creation apps, designed to make 3D modelling intuitive and accessible for everyone. With just six simple tools - Shape, Stroke, Paint, Modify, Grab, and Ease - users could effortlessly create 3D objects. Blocks’ user-friendly interface lowered the barrier to entry, allowing even beginner modellers to jump into VR content creation.

Sadly, Blocks was last updated in 2018, and has sat dormant since then. Around the time Tilt Brush was open sourced, we inquired if the same could happen for Blocks, but we were informed it wasn't possible. We got on with the development of Open Brush and our Poly replacement Icosa Gallery, and Blocks was left in the dark.

Earlier this year, we thought we'd try again! We reached out to both former and current members of the original Google Blocks team who worked on Blocks, and found they were eager to find a way forward for us. A little while later, Google approved the release of the source code.

We've been working hard with the Google Blocks team in the last few weeks to bring the codebase to a usable state, so anyone should now be able to download and run the Unity project.

However, it's not enough to just release what already exists...

Proposed roadmap for Open Blocks

We pushed hard for the Blocks code to be released, and we're committed to keeping its spirit alive. Naturally, we are going to release and maintain our own community-led version under the Icosa banner, just as we have done with Open Brush.

Over the coming months, we'll be working hard to bring the Open Blocks codebase up to modern standards. First up, we'll be switching to use the OpenXR framework and new input system within Unity, enabling us to target Open Blocks for a much wider range of XR devices. At that point, we will be aiming to create a standalone XR port, and bring Open Blocks to the Quest and Pico platforms. Along the way, there will be plenty of opportunity to add immersive XR features such as MR passthrough.

We'll also be adding glTF import support, more base shapes, an improved colour palette and support for our Poly replacement, Icosa Gallery. This will be instrumental in unlocking Open Blocks' full potential for asset creation and remixing.

Our long term roadmap will transform Open Blocks into a full modelling suite, giving you more control over materials, adding texturing support, and enabling more powerful tools from traditional CSG pipelines.

Coming soon to Steam!

We’re excited to announce that Open Blocks will soon be available on Steam, and we will share the store page as soon as it's available. In the meantime, you can access pre-release builds from our GitHub repository.

A community effort

We invite developers, artists, and XR enthusiasts to join our community and help shape the future of Open Blocks. Thousands of users rely on tools like Open Blocks and Open Brush daily for their XR productivity. Your contributions - whether through code, donations, feedback, or community engagement - are crucial to driving this project forward and ensuring it continues to evolve and improve.

Check out our GitHub, try the pre-release builds, and share your feedback on our Discord. Together, we can create a powerful, community-driven tool that enhances VR creativity for everyone.

A heartfelt thank you to Google Blocks team

We want to extend a big thank you to the Google Blocks team for their hard work with the original application, and for making the source code available to the community. We'd like to give a special shoutout to Jason Toff, who helped us reach out to the team and get the ball rolling. Their support has been instrumental in enabling us to bring Open Blocks to the community.

Stay tuned for more updates, and let’s create something amazing with Open Blocks!

Happy modelling,

The Icosa Foundation Maintainers

About Icosa Foundation

Icosa Foundation was created with the mission of preserving and maintaining the legacy of Google's Poly platform, realized in Icosa Gallery. We also quickly grew to maintain Open Brush, a fork of Google’s discontinued VR painting app Tilt Brush. We’re dedicated to preserving and enhancing these creative tools, ensuring they remain accessible and continue to grow with the needs of the ever changing XR landscape.

If you would like to support us financially, we have an Open Collective page. Any funds raised go towards maintaining our free software, with contributions going towards bug bounties, freelance developers, store fees, and paying for server infrastructure. Any support is greatly appreciated. Links Discord Open Collective Open Blocks on Twitter Open Brush on Twitter Icosa Foundation on Twitter