Meta to start testing money-making tools for its metaverse

April 13, 2022

Facebook owner Meta Platforms is starting to test tools for selling digital assets and experiences within its virtual reality platform Horizon Worlds, a key part of its plan for creating a metaverse, it said on Monday.

The tools will be available at first to a handpicked set of users who are making virtual classes, games, and fashion accessories inside the organization’s immersive platform, which is available through VR headsets, Meta said in a statement.

Using one tool, those select users will be able to sell their accessories or offer paid access to specialized digital spaces they have built, the organization said. The social media giant is likewise testing out a “creator bonus” program for a small set of Horizon Worlds users in the United States, through which it will pay participants each month for utilizing new features the company launches.

“We want there to just be tons of awesome worlds, and for that to occur there should be a ton of creators who can uphold themselves and make this their job,” Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg said in a discussion with early adopters, held inside Horizon Worlds using avatars.

The Facebook parent organization, which changed its name to Meta last year, has invested heavily in virtual and augmented reality to reflect its new bet on the metaverse, a futuristic idea of an organization of virtual environments accessed via different devices where users can work, socialize and play.