Games like IMVU: 3D avatar worlds to try in 2026

IMVU has been around since 2004, and its pull is easy to understand: you build a 3D avatar, dress it from an enormous catalogue, and spend time in rooms with other people. If you have played it for years, or you have just heard of it and want to know what else is out there, this list is for you.

These are our picks, not a ranking set in stone. For each one we checked the basics: where it runs, how it makes money, what age it is meant for, and whether you have to install anything. The sources are listed at the bottom of the page.

What IMVU actually is

It helps to be clear about what you are comparing against. IMVU is free to start. Its money comes from credits, which buy clothes, hair, poses and room items, and from VIP subscriptions. On Apple’s App Store the iPhone app is listed as free with in-app purchases and, at the time of writing (October 2026), rated 16+. The app description talks about voice chat, community-made rooms and a huge catalogue of user-created clothing. Common Sense Media notes that the most explicit content sits behind a paid Access Pass that is restricted to adults.

So the things people usually love about IMVU are: a detailed avatar, a fashion catalogue made by the community, and rooms to sit in with friends. Each pick below scores differently on those three.

Our picks

1. Second Life

The closest relative. Linden Lab launched Second Life in June 2003, and it is still a sprawling 3D world where almost everything is built by its residents: clothes, homes, whole regions. A basic account is free; paid Premium tiers add extras. You need to download the Second Life Viewer for Windows or macOS, and mobile apps are listed as in beta. Accounts are open to people aged 16 and over, and adult regions sit behind age checks. If you want a deeper creative world than IMVU and do not mind a learning curve, start here. We compare the two in IMVU vs Second Life.

2. Avakin Life

If what you like about IMVU is the phone app and the fashion, Avakin Life by Lockwood Publishing is the obvious next stop. It is free to download with in-app purchases and a VIP subscription, and it is built around avatars, homes you decorate and places to hang out. It is on iPhone and Android, and since 27 May 2026 it is also fully released on Steam for Windows, with progress shared between phone and PC. Apple rates it 13+, while Common Sense Media suggests 17+. More options in that style are in games like Avakin Life.

3. VRChat

VRChat sounds like it needs a headset, but it does not. Its own welcome page says a modern Windows computer is enough, and it is free on PC through Steam, Meta Quest, Pico, iPhone and Android. Avatars are uploaded by the community, so the range is wild. Some worlds and instances can be limited to players who have verified they are 18 or over. It is the most technical pick here, and the most varied.

4. Habbo Hotel: Origins

Not 3D, and that is the point. Habbo Hotel: Origins, launched by Sulake in June 2024, brings back the 2005 version of the pixel-art hotel, with rooms, furniture and chat. It is free, and unlike the main Habbo, which is aimed at teenagers and young adults, Origins is restricted to players aged 18 and over. If you liked IMVU’s rooms more than its avatars, this is worth a look. More in Habbo Hotel alternatives.

5. AJ Cities

Our own game, so take this one with that in mind. AJ Cities is a free open-world game set on the edge of Ajegunle, Lagos, and it runs in your web browser on a phone or a computer, with nothing to download. It is 18+. It is not an IMVU clone: there is no fashion marketplace and no room building. What it has is a live estate where you play as your own character with other real players.

• Make a character, change your look free. In party mode you pick a male or female character, then the Palmline Unisex Salon and Gatefold Clothing by the gate change your hair, skin tone and clothes at no cost.
• Meet other players. Up to 60 players share each live estate. You chat with the people around you, and if you pause you stay in the world as “away” for up to ten minutes.
• Somewhere to go. June 12 Street, the bush with its street football pitch, the beach, and Prizm, a club house inside the game where the artist Joe-Izzy plays every night from 9 pm Lagos time. All of it is virtual: there is no real venue, date or ticket.
• A story too. If you want something to do alone, AJ’s story is a single-player crime story with no sign-in.

Quick comparison

How to choose

Ask yourself what you actually log in for. If it is the outfits and the catalogue, Avakin Life is closest. If it is building and owning things, Second Life is unmatched. If it is wild avatars and odd worlds, VRChat. If it is a nostalgic room with friends, Habbo Hotel: Origins. And if you want a place to walk around with other players without installing anything, with a Lagos street, a football pitch and a story behind it, try AJ Cities.

Getting into AJ Cities in two minutes

1. Open ajcities.com and choose Party at the estate.
2. Sign in with your email; you must be 18 or over.
3. Pick your character and a world: always day, always night, or real Lagos time.
4. Change your look at the salon and the clothes shop, then ask the police at the main gate to let you in. Most nights about four in five guests who ask get in free.

Optional tickets, from ₦250 to ₦1,500 at the gate and ₦10,000 to ₦60,000 for Prizm VIP, last 24 hours and open more of the estate. Every price is on the tickets page.

What is the closest game to IMVU?

For building and owning things, Second Life. For a phone-first fashion and avatar game, Avakin Life. These are our picks; which is closest depends on what you like about IMVU.

Is there a game like IMVU that runs in a browser?

AJ Cities runs in any modern browser on a phone or computer, with nothing to download. It is an open-world game with a live estate rather than a chat-room app, so it plays differently from IMVU.

Are these games free?

All of them can be started free. IMVU, Second Life, Avakin Life and VRChat sell credits, subscriptions or items; AJ Cities sells optional tickets that last 24 hours.

Is AJ Cities for adults only?

Yes. AJ Cities is 18+, and you must be 18 or over to sign in to party mode.