Meta has announced two new ways that it will help creators in the Horizon Worlds metaverse earn a living; by creating and selling virtual items and through bonuses which can be earned via goal-oriented monthly programmes. Horizon Worlds is still new and, so far, limited to Canada and the United States so Meta is keen for creators to get building new stuff to make it more interesting for newcomers and wants to ensure they’re remunerated for their work.
With the virtual items, Meta suggests that creators could sell accessories inside a fashion world or offer paid access to new parts of worlds. As time goes on, creators will be able to figure out new ways to monetise their content so that they can continue building. Meta said that players who want to buy these in-world items will have to be 18+ and in the U.S. or Canada – it’s worth noting that these are the only people who should be playing at all right now according to the Terms of Service. Creators that decide to sell items will see a Commerce tab and gizmo while in Create mode that allows them to make new items to sell.
As for the bonuses, Meta wants to hand these out based on goal-oriented monthly programmes. As an example, creators could receive these bonuses for using new tools or features that are rolled out in Horizon Worlds. Over time, it will expand the bonus programme but it didn’t really say what other things bonuses might be awarded for. Anyone earning bonuses will not have to pay fees on earnings.
Horizon Worlds is a nascent Meta product that’s still held back by the hardware limitations of VR headsets. Over time, Meta is fully expecting the hardware to become more sophisticated and virtual environments like Horizon Worlds to become more appealing to a wider audience.