Skyboxes are a new feature in Active Worlds 3.2. A skybox is a 3D object that is always centered on your current position and rendered first before any other object in the world. Skyboxes are intended as a replacement for the world backdrop feature and allow the implementation of far more sophisticated world surroundings than simple backdrop images. Among other things, skyboxes can be created which surround the user in all directions, such that the user will always see either a sky, a horizon, or a ground no matter which way they are looking (even straight up.) Using various textured 3D shapes for skyboxes such as spheres or domes, very realistic horizon and sky effects can be created that were not possible before with simple two dimensional backdrops.

A skybox can be any 3D object, although obviously some objects work better than others as skyboxes. An object must be visible from the inside in order to be visible as a skybox, since a skybox is rendered from the origin of the object, looking outwards. World caretakers can specify the current skybox object for a world from the World Features dialog box.