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Meta Launches ‘Horizon Worlds’ Closed Beta on Smartphones

From roadtovr

Meta’s social VR platform just took its first step outside of Quest-exclusivity, as the company recently launched a closed beta for Horizon Worlds on Android mobile devices.

You won’t find Horizon Worlds on Google Play. Users taking part in the closed beta can directly launch the app through the Quest Android app.

X (previously Twitter) user Lunayian was apparently one of those chosen few, showing off a brief hands-on in the Super Rumble lobby, Meta’s first-party hero shooter revealed late last month.

Besides scripted avatar animations, the user’s legs seem to be what visually separates users on Quest from Android mobile devices, as Quest users are doomed to skate around as floating torsos until Meta decides otherwise.

There’s no word when the company plans to roll out access on browsers either, which the beta’s FAQ says will broaden availability of the platform to iOS devices on Safari, and Google Chrome, Safari, or Microsoft Edge on laptops and desktops.

At the time of this writing, the standard geolocation restrictions are still in effect for Horizon Worlds, with only users in the following countries able to access the platform: Canada, France, Iceland, Ireland, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

When it does roll out to more locations and platforms though, it will be better positioned to actually compete with the most successful metaverse apps, such as Rec Room, Roblox, and VR Chat, all of which have benefited from releasing on essentially every major platform worldwide—VR headsets and traditional platforms included. Undoubtedly, Meta is looking to replicate this success with Horizon Worlds, as it is now offering up better (and decidedly more sticky) first-party content like Super Rumble.

We’re sure to learn more about new Horizon Worlds features at the company’s annual Connect developer conference soon, which takes place September 27th, steaming both online and in-person for a select few at the company’s Menlo Park headquarters.

Meta to Open ‘Horizon Worlds’ Social VR Platform to Kids Ages 13+

From roadtovr

Horizon Worlds, Meta’s social VR platform for Quest, is only open to 18+ users for now, however the company says it’s expanding to include teens aged 13 to 17 in the US and Canada.

Meta says the new policy will go into effect in “the coming weeks,” effectively opening the company’s first-party social platform to its entire user base in those countries; Meta only allows users 13+ to actually use Quest devices.

To prepare for the wave of younger users, the company is also releasing some age-appropriate protections and safety defaults.

Safety features will include the ability for teens to control who they follow and who can follow them back. Profiles are also set to private by default, which obscures active status and location. Worlds and events will have content ratings, so younger teens can’t get in.

A new voice mode feature is also rolling out to everyone, which garbles voices of both unknown people and teen’s voices by default. Raising your hand to your ear temporarily lets you hear other users when voice mode is switched on, Meta says.

“We’re rolling out to teens slowly, so that we can carefully examine usage and are taking a phased approach before expanding more broadly,” the company says in a blogpost. “We can’t wait to see everything these new members of the community bring to Worlds.”

Parents and guardians can use the parental supervision tools to manage their teen’s experience and “support healthy conversations about safety in VR,” Meta says. To learn more, check out the new Family Center.

The company also released a safety tutorial to see the new features in action:

While Meta only just released official word of those changes to Horizon Worlds, the news was actually first reported by The Wall Street Journal in February, which was based on an internal memo that alleged the social VR platform was under performing and needed to increase user retention to keep up with the competition. According to the memo seen by WSJ, Horizon Worlds’ weekly retention rate was 11% in January 2023, which the company aimed to increase to 20%.

A goal outlined in the memo maintained Worlds needed to reach 500,000 monthly active users (MAU) in the first half of 2023, ultimately reaching the one million mark by year’s end. At the time, it was reported the platform was hovering around 200,000 MAUs, or just below the December peak.

There’s no telling when the flatscreen version of Horizon Worlds is due to arrive, however Meta maintained it would be opening the Quest-only social platform to Web and mobile devices “soon.”

Meta’s Horizon Worlds VR Metaverse Adds Quests

From vrscout

Earn exclusive rewards by completing specific objectives.

Meta today announced update V102 for Horizon Worlds, the company’s social VR metaverse platform. This latest update introduces a number of bug fixes plaguing world editing and collaborators. What is most exciting, however, is a new feature called “Quests.”

Rolling out on Quest headsets over the next few weeks, this new feature allows you to unlock exclusive rewards for your Meta Avatar by completing various objectives, or “Quests,” available in certain worlds. This includes Giant Mini Paddle Golf, a virtual mini-golf course set in a tropical island paradise complete with an enormous crab and monstrous Kraken.

Credit: Meta

Test group users can head to their Identity Panel to find a new “Quests” icon containing six unique objectives to complete, including “Get a Hole-in-one.” Completing these quests earns you avatar rewards, such as the Sea Captain Costume.

Meta is currently testing the feature with a select group of users. The company will be opening up access to more users over the coming weeks.



The following is a comprehensive breakdown of the bug fixes included in update V102 (as provided by Meta):

  • General
    • Some people were having trouble canceling a party invite; this has been fixed in V102.
  • Creators
    • We fixed a bug that was causing selection boxes to remain visible after switching into preview mode from edit mode.
    • In rare cases, the “Edit World” button was not appearing for collaborators after accepting a collaboration invite. This should be fixed and reliable now.
    • We fixed an issue where avatar thumbnails were not aligning on leaderboards.
    • There was an issue where creators were reporting Build Mode was down; this has been fixed.

For more information visit here.

Feature Image Credit: Meta

Report: Meta to Open ‘Horizon Worlds’ to Younger Teens Amid Renewed Retention Push

From roadtovr

Meta’s social VR app for Quest, Horizon Worlds, is lagging behind the competition when it comes to attracting and retaining VR users. According to a leaked memo obtained by The Wall Street Journal, the company is now ostensibly looking to boost numbers by more transparently appealing to younger teens in addition to funding a slew of new second-party content.

WSJ only posted snippets of the memo, entitled ‘Horizon 2023 Goals and Strategy’, which was allegedly written by Meta Vice President of Horizon Gabriel Aul. The memo is said to outline the team’s objectives for the first half of 2023.

Here’s some highlights we formatted into a bulleted list, which also includes additional info supplied by a source cited by WSJ:

  • Competitors are outperforming HW. Improving user retention is most important, especially among teens and young adults
  • HW to open to teens aged 13 to 17, which could come as early as March
  • Meta is working with outside studios to build new worlds and experiences for HW
  • The team is aiming to launch at least 20 new Horizon-hosted experiences built by second-party studios. Of the 20, it’s hoping for five medium hits and at least one a major hit
  • The flatscreen version of Horizon for mobile and desktops is set to come sometime in H1 2023

Additionally, WSJ reports the memo outlined some key performance metrics, claiming Horizon Worlds’ weekly retention rate was 11% in January, which the company aims to increase to 20%. The goal for monthly active users for the first half of 2023 is said to be 500,000, with hopes of reaching one million for the full year. Currently the platform is at 200,000, or just below the December peak, the reported memo outlines.

The previously reported flatscreen version, which is said to launch by the end of the first half of 2023, is hoping to achieve 150,000 monthly cross-screen Horizon users.

Meta’s Quest 2 headset is technically only available to users aged 13 and up. Horizon Worlds on the other hand has been limited to users 18+ since it was launched in 2021, and only to those in US, Canada, UK, France, Iceland, Ireland and Spain.

While none of this seems to have hindered children below 13 from playing all the Quest 2 has to offer, Horizon Worlds included. More transparently appealing to young teens though will likely come with a host of safety requirements that the company needs to fulfil for liability reasons.

Meta issued a response to WSJ, supporting in part its move to focus on teens:

“Teens are already spending time in a variety of VR experiences on Quest,” Meta spokesman Joe Osborne told WSJ, “and we want to ensure that we can provide them with a great experience in Horizon Worlds as well, with age-appropriate tools and protections in place.”

This comes hot on the heels of Meta reducing its workforce by 13% late last year, one of the biggest tech layoffs in recent memory, which saw 11,000 jobs cut from payroll.

Meanwhile, the company’s Reality Labs XR division has dramatically increased its operating budget in an ostensible bid to maintain market dominance over similar metaverse pushes from the likes of Apple, Google, etc. At the same time, Meta has slashed some XR projects, including first-party title Echo VR.

Provided the report is true, it appears Meta is making another important step towards competing more directly with cross-platform social gaming titans like Roblox and Rec Room. 

Horizon Worlds VR Metaverse Coming To Web & Mobile

From vrscout

Meta has also begun testing “members-only worlds” featuring exclusive content.

Meta this week announced that it has given a select group of users the ability to grow and moderate their own communities by creating “members-only worlds.” These closed spaces feature exclusive VR content accessible by a hand-picked group of Horizon Worlds users.

According to an official press release, creators can invite up to 150 members to each world as part of the alpha test. Each members-only world can support up to 25 concurrent visitors at one time. Here users can engage in a variety of multiplayer activities, such as organizing a book club, attending a support group, meeting up with friends and family, and more.

Credit: Meta

“Every community develops its own norms, etiquette, and social rules over time as it fosters a unique culture. To enable that, we’ll provide the tools that allow the creators of members-only worlds to set the rules for their communities and maintain those rules for their closed spaces,” said the company in an official release.

“Creators can choose whether or not to share their moderation responsibilities with other trusted group members and decide if they’ll allow members to visit the world without a creator or moderator present,” they added. “Everyone will always have the ability to report worlds to Meta and report others for behavior that violates our Code of Conduct for Virtual Experiences.”

Credit: Meta

In addition to members-only worlds, Horizon Worlds will also be expanding to additional platforms beyond VR. Meta’s social VR metaverse will soon be available on the web as well as mobile devices, allowing those without a Quest 2 or Quest Pro VR headset the ability to jump into the action.

As previously mentioned, Meta is partnering with a select group of Horizon Worlds users as part of the ongoing alpha test. This test is designed to confirm that creators have the tools required to properly moderate and grow their members-only worlds.

For more information check out the official release here.

Image Credit: Meta

Meta’s Social VR App is Coming to Web & Mobile Soon, Alpha Begins for Members-only Rooms

From roadtovr

Horizon Worlds, Meta’s social VR platform for Quest users, is expanding with alpha tests of new members-only spaces, allowing creators to manage up to 150 card-carrying members in their private worlds. Meta says it’s also gearing up to release Horizon Worlds on non-Quest devices for the first time.

Meta is now rolling out alpha access to its new members-only worlds, which aims to let creators build and cultivate a space in Horizon Worlds. Each members-only world can have up to 150 members, although only 25 concurrent visitors can gather at any given time.

“Every community develops its own norms, etiquette, and social rules over time as it fosters a unique culture,” the company says in a blogpost. “To enable that, we’ll provide the tools that allow the creators of members-only worlds to set the rules for their communities and maintain those rules for their closed spaces.”

Meta says moderation responsibilities can be shared among trusted members, so creators can better control who gets in and who’s kicked out, however the company says its Code of Conduct for Virtual Experiences is still in effect in privately owned spaces.

What’s more, the Quest-only social platform is also going to be available on the Web and mobile devices “soon”, the company says, adding that rules will be made and enforced “similarly to how mobile operating systems manage experiences on their platforms.”

As it is today, Horizon Worlds plays host to a growing number of user-generated content in addition to first-party worlds. The release of Horizon Worlds outside of Quest would represent a massive potential influx of users and user-generated content, putting it in direct competition with cross-platform social gaming titans such as Roblox and Rec Room.

As a similar free-to-play app, Horizon Worlds offers an Avatar Store featuring premium digital outfits—very likely only a first step in the company’s monetization strategy. For now, the company says it allows creators to earn revenue from purchases people make in their worlds, which includes hardware platform fees and a Horizon Worlds fee, which Meta says is 25 percent.

In late October, Meta showed off a tempting preview of its next-gen avatars, although it’s clear there’s still a ton of work to be done to satisfy its existing userbase. Floating torsos are still very much a thing in Horizon Worlds, and that’s despite Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s insistence that full body tracking was in the works. It was too good to be true.

For now, Horizon Worlds is only available on Quest 2 headsets in the US, Canada, UK, France, Iceland, Ireland and Spain—something we hope they change well before it ushers in flatscreen users.

Eli Roth’s BE MINE: A VR Valentine’s Slasher Revealed

From vrscout

The horror icon is back with yet another immersive experience for Quest headsets.

Eli Roth, director of iconic horror films such as Hostel and Cabin Fever, is returning to VR with a new horror experience. Written by Roth and directed by Adam MacDonald, Eli Roth’s BE MINE: A VR Valentine’s Slasher tells the story of Becca (played by Peyton List), a young girl being stalked by a murderous psychopath wearing a Cupid mask.

According to Meta, the combination 180 and 360-degree film is around 30 minutes long and will be available on Quest 2 and Quest Pro headsets via Meta Quest TV and Horizon Worlds, Meta’s own social VR metaverse. Meta will be hosting a special premiere event in Horizon Worlds at 7pm PT on February 10th. You’ll also be able to watch the short film on Facebook and Instagram.

“I had the most incredible experience making Trick-VR-Treat with Meta, and we wanted to push the experience even further with BE MINE, creating a true narrative experience where you’re at the center of a slasher film,” said Roth in an official release.

“I wrote BE MINE knowing what worked best in VR, but pushing the boundaries with new ideas and techniques, and the results are nothing short of thrilling. We have created a true immersive horror experience. I have been a huge fan of Adam MacDonald for a long time, and what he and the incredible cast brought to life is something unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. I think horror fans are going to absolutely love it. Get ready, it’s a bloody good time.”

Eli Roth’s BE MINE: A VR Valentine’s Slasher premiers at 7pm PT on February 10th on Meta Quest 2 and Meta Quest Pro headsets. The film was produced by Crypt TV and Roth in collaboration with Cream Productions. For more information visit here.

Image Credit: Meta

MLK: Now Is The Time Is Available Now On Meta Quest

From vrscout

You can also watch The March 360, a “digital reenactment” of the 1963 March on Washington.

Available now on Quest 2 and Quest Pro headsets, MLK: Now is the Time allows you to experience Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech like never before. Brought to us by TIME Studios and Flight School Studios, the thought-provoking VR experience combines real footage of the historic speech with interactive elements designed to teach you more about the issues raised by Dr. King.



Each topic is represented as an interactive vignette designed to hit you on an emotional level while educating you on important subjects such as housing inequality, voting rights, and policing.

“That speech is a calling on the country to consider a baseline for all its citizens,” said Director Limbert Fabian. “I didn’t want you to only stand and listen to his words—I wanted to start you off with them and then lead you into a discussion about how they feel today. And I wanted to find that with each moment in the speech, we were getting closer to him.”

“One of the amazing things about VR and our metaverse work is that it creates opportunities for transformative learning in a way we’ve never experienced before,” added Roy L. Austin Jr, Meta’s vice president of Civil Rights and Deputy General Counsel. “We can simultaneously document, educate, and experience history in a way that furthers our understanding and progress today.”

“At TIME Studios, we believe immersive storytelling allows us to bring powerful moments in history to new audiences while also illuminating larger societal and global issues,“ said Loren Hammonds, Co-Head of Documentary at TIME Studios. “We are proud to bring the words and message of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to a new generation with this groundbreaking VR experience, created alongside Meta and in collaboration with IPM, the exclusive licensor of the MLK Jr. estate.”

MLK: Now is the Time is available now on Meta Quest 2 and Meta Quest Pro headsets. You can also watch The March 360, a “digital reenactment” of The March on Washington. For more information check out the official announcement here.

Image Credit: Meta

Biggie VR Concert Will Feature ‘Hyper-Realistic’ Avatar

From vrscout

With guest performances by Sean “Diddy” Combs, The Lox, and more.

Meta today announced the latest in its series of immersive VR concerts, The Notorious B.I.G. Sky’s The Limit: A VR Concert Experience. Coming next month to Horizon Worlds, the one-of-a-kind show will bring the late Brooklyn rapper to life like never before in celebration of what would have been his 50th birthday.

Credit: Meta

On December 16th, those with a Meta Quest 2 or Meta Quest Pro headset can log in to Horizon Worlds, Meta’s social VR metaverse, to catch an immersive VR concert featuring a “hyper-realistic avatar” of the late great rapper along with guest performances by Sean “Diddy” Combs, The Lox, Latto, Nardo Wick, Lil’ Cease, DJ Clark Kent, and more.

The experience will also feature a narrative portion, during which you’ll learn more about the life of the hip-hop legend. Written and voiced by American writer and music journalist Touré, this eye-opening journey will take you through The Brook, a virtual recreation of ’90s Brooklyn.

Credit: Raymond Boyd/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

When asked how the project came to be, Touré said, “I’ve worked with producer Alex Coletti on several projects over many years and I also interviewed Biggie several times, so Alex thought I could be helpful at bringing this to life.”

“We wanted to create a concert that had other aspects to it, so it was on me to figure out a pre-concert scene and a post-concert scene. It was a lot of fun trying to imagine what Big would be like and what he might be doing if he were still with us today.”



“It’s very exciting to be able to give people immersive experiences, so if VR can develop to the point where I can be at home but have the feeling of being in the front row of a concert and really feel like I’m there, that would be a really exciting opportunity,” he added.

 The Notorious B.I.G. Sky’s The Limit: A VR Concert Experience will kick off on December 16th in Horizon Worlds, available free on Meta Quest 2 and Meta Quest Pro. A 2D version of the show will be available to view on-demand via the official Notorious B.I.G. Facebook page.

For more information visit here.

Image Credit: Burst Live

Cheetos Unveils Digital Neighborhood In Horizon Worlds

From vrscout

Enter the Cheetoverse.

Cheetos has partnered with Meta to launch Chesterville, a digital suburban neighborhood, inside the Horizon Worlds metaverse. Here you can participate in a variety of Halloween-themed activities alongside friends and strangers in VR to build up your “mischief meter” and gain access to the spooky mansion located at the top of the hill.

There are a couple of different ways to cause mischief. You can grab Chester the Cheetah’s Wand and brand the neighborhood with the Cheetos logo, TP trees (or your friends) with “Cheetle-fied” Paper Towels, trap fellow players in Cheetos Mac ‘N Cheese, or snack on some Flamin’ Hot Cheetos to unlock a speed boost. You can also gain access to the mansion by collecting skeleton bones scattered around the world and assembling them in the graveyard.

“As a culture-first brand committed to innovative consumer experiences, Cheetos is proud to lead Frito-Lay into the metaverse,” said Stacy Taffet, senior vice president of marketing for Frito-Lay.

“This is a significant moment for both the brand and the portfolio as we broaden the ways we engage with fans, inviting them to experience Cheetos inan entirely new way. We can’t wait to welcome consumers into Chester’s virtual domain that brings his personality and Cheetos’ brand ethos to life.”

Once you’ve maxed out your mischief meter the front gates will open and you’ll be permitted to enter the mansion where you can vote to “resurrect” one of three discontinued Cheetos flavors: Flamin’ Hot Chipotle Ranch, Flamin’ Hot Pepper Puffs, or Nashville Hot. You’ll also receive a Halloween-themed mask you can wear around Chesterville to prove you’re a true mischief maker.

“Forward-thinking brands are beginning to build immersive experiences and we’re thrilled that Cheetos is leading the pack with their launch of Chesterville, their first-ever virtual reality experience in Meta Horizon Worlds,” added Nada Stirratt, vice president, global business group at Meta.

“It’s exciting to see such an iconic brand use our platforms to experiment and connect with consumers in new, innovative ways. We can’t wait to see how users everywhere embrace their inner Chester Cheetah this Halloween and beyond.”

Chesterville is just the latest in a series of brand-themed Horizon Worlds locations developed in collaboration with companies. In the past, we’ve covered everything from the Wendyverse and NOPE World to the Stratoverse and NBA Lane.

Horizon Worlds is available for free on Meta Quest 2.

Image Credit: Cheetos