Meta Horizon Worlds: Availability and Age Restrictions

Meta's Horizon Worlds Now Open to Wider Audience

The company previously known as Facebook is progressing towards its ambition of creating a fully realized metaverse. Currently, Horizon Worlds – envisioned as a VR equivalent to platforms like Second Life or Minecraft – is transitioning beyond its invite-only beta phase.

Access is now being granted to all individuals aged 18 and over residing in the United States and Canada. This represents a significant advancement for the application, initially unveiled in 2019.

A Social World-Building Environment

Horizon Worlds functions as a free, interactive environment for social interaction and world creation. Upon entering the app, new users are guided through a brief tutorial before being presented with core options: playing games, attending events, or simply socializing.

Users can explore both experiences developed by Meta and spaces constructed by the community. Anyone is empowered to build within the platform, and in October, the company committed $10 million in funding to support these VR content creators.

Prior to entering any virtual space, the platform emphasizes that all encountered individuals are real people.

Safety Features and User Interaction

A dedicated safety button, accessible via the user’s virtual wrist-mounted menu, instantly transports them to a private “Safe Zone”. From this zone, users can block, mute, or report other participants.

The Plaza, a space created by Meta, serves as a common initial encounter point for new users. Experiences include simple interactions like throwing virtual paper airplanes and engaging in conversation with community moderators who assist with controls and navigation.

The controls are relatively intuitive, though some familiarization is required. The overall experience is surprisingly engaging, offering a glimpse into the potential of metaverse social interaction.

However, user-generated spaces may not consistently feature these human moderators. While constant Meta presence in every space is impractical and potentially unsettling, the metaverse presents unique challenges to online safety.

Addressing Safety Concerns

Meta has previously faced difficulties in removing harmful content from Facebook. Furthermore, internal documents have revealed concerns regarding the potential negative impact of Instagram on adolescent mental health.

Recent Congressional testimony from Instagram’s head, Adam Mosseri, focused on online safety for young users. The immersive nature of a metaverse environment introduces additional complexities to content moderation.

Previous platforms like Clubhouse and Twitter Spaces have also struggled with harmful content, and Twitch has experienced “hate raids”.

Horizon Worlds vs. Horizon Venues

In terms of user experience, Horizon Worlds represents a substantial improvement over Meta’s Horizon Venues platform, designed for immersive events. Once Horizon Worlds achieves global accessibility, Venues may become redundant.

Currently, Venues simply places users in a basic entry area, offering limited access to experiences like looped recordings of concerts. Worlds already demonstrates greater engagement and potential.

As Horizon Worlds expands to accommodate millions of users, Meta must demonstrate its ability to maintain a secure social environment.

System Requirements

To experience Horizon Worlds, users must download the free application onto a Quest 2 device. Support for the original Quest 1 headset was discontinued as of January 13, 2022.