From galaxies far far away, to Pocket Monsters, to a trip to your local zoo, we’ve got it all.
As lockdowns continue to lift in parts of North America and Europe one thing is certain: video conferencing through Zoom and other services will be part of our new normal. If you’re tired of scrambling to clean up your backdrop using a virtual background makes for a good option. We’ve scoured the ‘net to find you the best range of geeky options available, grouping them by theme, and giving you the nod to our personal favourites.
Space – The Final Frontier
We’re a fan of all things space and we think you might be too. Some of the best shots from the Hubble Telescope were featured by NASA as usable backgrounds. Far out.
Both Star Trek and Star Wars (not to be confused with one another) got in on the fun too. The option to go light speed is particularly appealing.
Private Division, makers of games like Kerbal Space Program and Outer Worlds, also have some space-faring options available.
There’s also a couple of LEGO space set themed backgrounds you can roll with.
Fantastical Places
Dreamscapes, castles, horror, and more await you: these wallpapers give off a fairy tale vibe.
Annapurna Interactive have a lovely collection of Zoom backgrounds that fit many of our categories but we especially dig the Sayonara Wild Hearts background.
The Disneyland Parks blog offers up a whole bunch of inspired backdrops, including another taste of Star Wars, but the classic Disney castle best captures the magic on offer.
Magic The Gathering offers a collection of wallpapers that come in a range of sizes. Set your download to 1920 x 1080 and you’re optimized for Zoom. If you’re more of a Yu-Gi-Oh fan you can use the Kame Game Shop or other backgrounds inspired by that game / anime combo.
The Pokemon Company also have a whole host of scenes as backgrounds, particularly their Pokemon Masters section, but we appreciate the chance to have a gym from Sword and Shield as our backdrop, too.
LEGO has a neat pirate ship you can set sail with.
Finally, Marvel has provided some cool stills from the MCU, along with a couple of other cool backgrounds, to spice up that background. Wakanda forever!
Creatures
We love creatures big and small, extinct and living, and we’re happy to show you the best cuddly animals, dinosaurs, and Pokemon around.
The Royal Tyrell Museum offers up some shots of its favourite dinosaurs as potential Zoom backgrounds. A different collection of dinosaurs can be utilized from the Houston Museum of Natural Science.
LEGO offers up some nice dinosaur and animal inspired options for you to consider.
A range of zoos have been providing amazing shots of their animals in action, including the Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo, the Cincinnati Zoo, and the Smithsonian, who, erm, get a bit cheeky.
The Pokemon Company offers up some shots from its TCG, the anime, and the games to help spice up your background with your favourite creatures. But if you really want to showcase your love of all things Pokemon we recommend accessing their collaboration with Original Stitch to make Pokemon Shirts: They’ve posted a massive zip full of potential backgrounds.
Bits and Bobs
The best of the rest of the things we’ve seen that don’t neatly fit into the categories above.
If you’re a fan of fighting games both Street Fighter and Soul Calibur have some options for you to check out.
Whether it’s seeding or harvest (or, more likely, a time in between) we always enjoy Farming Simulator who have a blend of home-based images, internal shots of your tractor, and some impressive farming landscapes for you to behold.
The Houston Museum of Natural Science has some interesting pictures from within their museum: We dig the Ancient Egypt and mineral backgrounds above all else.
Seen any Zoom backgrounds we should add? Tweet us @LiftoffGGW to let us know!