Meta will let creators sell virtual items inside of Horizon Worlds

Meta is working on a way to let creators sell virtual items for real money inside of its Horizon Worlds metaverse for the Meta Quest. Horizon Worlds is Meta’s first venture into the metaverse and the company wants to get creators involved.

This comes from a report from The Verge, which recently spoke with Meaghan Fitzgerald, product marketing director for Horizon. Meta is currently testing the feature with a “handful” of creators

Fitzgerald told the publication that creators will be able to sell different kinds of things. For instance, they could sell a sort of VIP access to specific areas within their worlds. Alternatively, they will also have the option to sell special items, like unique accessories or gadgets, inside of their own worlds.

It’s time. 10,000 worlds have already been created. Drop in and play, build or just hang out. The possibilities are endless. pic.twitter.com/VWc83PkuDV

— Meta Horizon (@MetaHorizon) February 16, 2022

Of course, this means that Meta plans on taking a cut of everything sold within Horizon Worlds. Right now, the company’s cut is equal to 25 percent of any sales, but only after platform fees.

READ MORE: Instagram and Facebook creators are getting new monetization tools

For example, Meta’s Quest Store takes a 30 percent cut of anything sold. So Meta itself will only take its 25 percent cut from the amount left after the platform fee.

Additionally, Fitzgerald spoke with The Verge about potential advertisements within Horizon Worlds. The company’s focus is currently on creators and monetization through that avenue. But Fitzgerald said ads “may be an area we want to explore in the future.”

Maybe I’m skeptical, but that seems like bullshit. We have to remember that this is Meta, our advertising overlord, that we’re talking about here. I would be astonished if advertising wasn’t the first thing on Meta’s mind when it comes to Horizon.

I expect the company is just waiting for the right time to begin its constant barrage of advertisements on the platform. But who knows, maybe I’m wrong. After all, surely Meta is already making enough money by exploiting the data it collects on its billions of users worldwide…

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