Facebook has announced that it is opening the Horizon Worlds metaverse

Metaverses are nothing new. Minecraft-type games have long been known in which users can interact with each other by creating their own virtual worlds (metaverses).

Mark Zuckerberg’s company did not stand aside either. Facebook has officially changed its name to Meta and has now developed a platform called Horizon Worlds. Its main difference from similar projects is that all actions take place in virtual reality.

Platform History

For Facebook, this is the third attempt to create a virtual reality platform. Before that, there were already Facebook Spaces and Oculus Rooms.

The announcement of the project took place in 2019 under the name Facebook Horizon. In 2020, the platform was tested in closed mode. In 2021, the project was renamed Horizon Worlds and became open to all users.

Virtual living rooms and offices are now located on the platform. There is an application for various events.

Facebook has long used elements of virtual reality in its developments. So, the Oculus software platform made it possible to create an individual avatar and meet with other users in virtual rooms. Horizon Worlds takes another step in this direction, allowing each user to create their own world that can be shared with like-minded people. Facebook considers such developments as an element of its social policy.

Terms of use of the platform

The main requirement: the user of the platform must be 18 years old. So far, only users from the USA and Canada fall into the category of possible participants in the new virtual space. You can register using your Facebook or VKontakte account, and then create a legless avatar. At the same time, you can communicate with no more than 20 people. To interact in virtual reality, you need an Oculus helmet.

A code of conduct has been developed on the platform, which users must strictly comply with. The developers stated that they had provided special means of blocking inappropriate behavior. During testing, one of the users complained of sexual harassment towards her. According to the developers, there is already a “Safe Zone” tool for such cases, which makes the meta user invisible to others.

Project prospects

Project managers are interested in attracting developers of creative content. To do this, they announced a competition with a prize fund of $ 10 million, the purpose of which is to develop new digital products.