Facebook on Thursday announced that it is opening up Horizon Worlds, its virtual reality world of avatars, to anyone 18 and older in the U.S. and Canada according to a report from CNBC News.
Horizon Worlds launched in beta last year to select Oculus VR users, who answered invitations to join the virtual world. With the announcement on Thursday, users will no longer need to be invited. The broader launch of Horizon Worlds is an important step for Facebook, which officially changed its name to Meta in October.
The company adopted the new moniker, based on the sci-fi term metaverse, to describe its vision for working and playing in a virtual world. Yahoo News reported that Horizon Worlds is far from a fully realized metaverse, a future internet where online experiences like chatting to a friend would eventually feel face-to-face thanks to virtual reality (VR) headsets.
But headset-wearing users in the United States and Canada can now gather with friends or others, play games, and build their own virtual worlds on Horizon as long as they are 18 years old and have the proper equipment. Since last year a testing version of the platform has been available to a limited number of users.
Facebook renamed its parent company to Meta in October to emphasize its aim to shift from scandal-prone social media platform to its virtual reality vision for its future. “We want Horizon Worlds to be a safe and respectful environment, so everyone must follow our Conduct in VR Policy,” Meta said in announcing the opening. “You have several safety options… which lets you take a break and then block, mute or report people,” it added.
