Meta Expands Horizon Worlds to Mobile, Web

Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, has decided to expand his Horizon Worlds metaverse from virtual reality devices to smartphones and computers. The 3D avatar-based social platform announced in a blog post published on September 15 that it has begun spreading out its first Meta Horizon world for mobile and web in early access.

The only experience currently accessible is Super Rumble, a free-for-all shooter that debuted in late July and allows two to six players to compete in five-minute, high-speed matches.

Meta stated that additional experiences and realms will be added to the platform in the coming months. With the initial rollout, only a limited number of users will be able to access it via the web or the Meta Quest app on Android, an iOS rollout is scheduled for the coming weeks.

“Early access will be gradually rolled out to more people as we gather feedback and evolve the experience,” stated Meta. “The metaverse should be accessible to everyone, regardless of device,” the tech behemoth added:

“And while Quest headsets are the most immersive way to access the metaverse, we believe there should be multiple entry points.”

Meta stated that introducing Worlds to more devices will increase access to the experience. Meta has not disclosed any public statistics regarding its monthly active users, but The Wall Street Journal reported in October 2022 that the number was less than 200,000.

Meta’s social platform is presently only accessible in the United States, Canada, France, Iceland, Ireland, the United Kingdom, and Spain. Interestingly, blockchain-based metaverse platforms, such as Decentraland and The Sandbox, appeared to have begun their voyage in reverse.

Both began as PC and web-based experiences, with Decentraland’s browser-based 3D virtual world debuting in February 2020 and The Sandbox’s Alpha launching in November 2021.

Both have yet to officially issue a virtual reality port. In the meantime, meta avatars in Horizon Worlds have been updated with virtual legs. After the debut of Zuckerberg’s metaverse, observers pointed out that the company’s massive investment was insufficient to give its avatars virtual legs.

During Connect 2022, Meta promised that the legs would be included in a future update in 2023. The legs functionality was reportedly introduced to Quest Home Space a few weeks ago as a v57 test version update, but according to some users, it has now made its way to the Horizon Worlds app.