Meta, previously Facebook, is going all in on The Metaverse. As the company plans to pose itself as the leader of the future internet technology, it’s quickly moving to establish itself against competitors like Sandbox and Decentraland. In its first move towards realising its Metaverse plans, Meta has quickly launched Horizon Worlds.
Horizon Worlds launches in US and Canada
In its current iteration, Horizon Worlds is far from what The Metaverse is planned to be. As it stands, the application is merely a virtual reality meeting ground, not unlike apps like Rec Room or VR Chat. Instead, it's a relatively tiny scrap of what CEO Mark Zuckerberg is promising.
While it not be the full Ready Player One-like experience that Zuckerberg pitched, it does offer some experiences for users. For example, there are multiple small-scale rides for players to take part in across multiple worlds.
The worlds include rides like Wand & Broom, a magic broom journey over the creatively named “Towncity”. Additionally, there's Mark’s Riverboat, a Disneyland rip-off that sees you and some friends sit on a three-story riverboat trip.
Finally, there's Pixel Plummet, by far the most engaging experience in the bunch. In this world, players explore a retro-themed arcade complete with multiplayer games. It's the biggest place in all of Horizon Worlds.
To experience the first-gen Metaverse platform, you'll have to have access to an Oculus Quest/Meta Quest headset. Importantly, you'll also need to be 18-years-old to gain access to the application. However, we doubt that restriction will stop anyone.
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The start of Zuckerberg's Metaverse
Horizon Worlds is the first step towards Zuckerberg's Metaverse. In its current form, it’s nothing special. There has already been far more engaging virtual reality experiences made by far smaller companies.
However, with the platform's openness for creators, it'll likely gain a lot of “Worlds” in a fairly short amount of time. After all, Meta has the money to advertise and draw in users, something smaller platforms don't have.