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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.

Ubisoft Reveals ‘Assassin’s Creed Nexus VR’, Coming to Quest 2 This Holiday

From roadtovr

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‘Rec Room’ to Bring He-Man Avatars in ‘Masters of the Universe’ Event

From roadtovr

Social VR platform Rec Room is getting another big brand collaboration with the limited-time release of avatar items based on the world of Masters of the Universe, which will let you transform into He-Man, Teela, or the dastardly Skeletor.

From December 15th to March 31st, Rec Room users will be able to don the armor inspired by the legendary heroes and boney villain from the Masters of the Universe franchise. To get a copy of the avatar items, just visit the stylized pop-up of Castle Grayskull which will be in the platform’s Rec Center hub.

Ok, so He-Man is clearly missing the massive, rippling muscles you’ll see in all of the franchise’s cartoons, which include the original ’80s show, 2002 reboot, and 2021 re-reboots, but the trailer is certainly on point with everything else:

The collaboration represents another big step for Rec Room, as content is based on the official Masters of the Universe IP owned by Mattel. In the past, Rec Room has run similar events too, such as its collaboration with the NBA to bring team jerseys and branded basketballs to the platform and an event featuring popular YouTuber Mr. Beast.

As a platform that tends to skew to the younger crowd thanks to it not only being free, but available cross-platform across essentially all flatscreen devices and VR headsets, the He-Man licensing agreement may prove as a valuable test case for similar brand engagement vehicles in the future. After all, Mattel owns a mountain of kid-friendly IP that may just as well fit in the growing platform, including Barbie, Hot Wheels, Polly Pocket, Thomas & Friends, Monster High, Bob The Builder, and Pingu to name a few.

And all of that’s possible thanks to Rec Room’s $294 million lifetime financing and reported $3.5 billion valuation. Since the studio last reported Q1 2022 data, Rec Room has attracted over 75 million lifetime users across all platforms, with a reported 29 million active players worldwide.

‘Batman VR’ App Allegedly in the Works for Quest, FTC Filing Claims

From roadtovr

Among documents released by the United States Federal Trade Commission (FTC) earlier this week is a claim that Meta’s VR studio Camouflaj, the developers behind Marvel’s Ironman VR, have also planned a Batman VR app for release on Quest.

The apparent leak was found by Janko Roettgers, formerly of Protocol and Variety. The document in whole can be viewed here.

“In September 2022, Meta acquired Camouflaj, which currently developing Ironman and Batman VR apps for Quest.”

The information comes as a part of wider antitrust investigation into Meta’s acquisition of Within, the studio behind the VR fitness app. You can read more about that here.

Last we heard from Camouflaj before the acquisition by Meta, the studio said it had “exciting things on the horizon,” maintaining it was still “all-in on VR.”

As early as May 2022, the studio was hiring for a host of positions to work on its “next exciting AAA project.”

A few months later the studio then released Iron Man VR on Quest 2, releasing it from its two-year exclusivity on PSVR.

Camouflaj hasn’t announced any new projects at this point either. We’ve reached out to Meta for comment and will update when/if we hear back.