Meta is testing out new tools to pay creators building in Horizon Worlds.
The latest move by Meta follows similar efforts by Rec Room and Roblox to pay creators, with Horizon Worlds monetization starting as an initial test “with a handful of creators that will let them sell virtual items and effects within their worlds. For example, someone could make and sell attachable accessories for a fashion world or offer paid access to a new part of a world,” according to a Meta blog post.
We asked about the fee structure and a Meta spokesperson explained over email that revenue “from purchases people make in their worlds, subject to any relevant hardware platform fee, and a Horizon Worlds fee which is 25 percent of the remainder. For example, if a creator sells an item for $1.00, then the Meta Quest Store fee would be $0.30 and the Horizon Platform fee would be $0.17, leaving $0.53 for the Creator before any applicable taxes.”
Creators who are part of the test in Horizon Worlds will see a commerce tab and tools when they’re in create mode that will let them create purchasable items. Meta is also testing a “Horizon Worlds Creator Bonus” program with “goal-oriented monthly programs where the creators are paid out at the end of the month for their progress toward the goal.”
Meta has been building up its creator program and tools for VR makers in recent months as CEO Mark Zuckerberg made it a goal to see the Horizon Worlds platform running on 2D devices this year. The company also recently added Horizon Worlds as a track to its existing VR developer training programs.
“If you imagine what some future metaverse [at] some point down the line [would look like], clearly the ability to sell virtual goods and take them with you from one world to another is going to be an important part of it. But first, there need to be things that people want to buy, to get that economy going. So I think that sometimes the stuff that ends up working in these digital products ends up being a little bit different from what you’d expect from the physical world,” Zuckerberg told creators. “So, it requires a lot of experimentation and creativity from the people who are building the worlds and building these experiences and all kinds of different things.”
