Horizon Worlds launch on mobile as VR numbers hit low point
Meta's social VR app Horizon Worlds continues to struggle with low player numbers. The starting smartphone and browser version might help.
Meta has launched a closed beta version of Horizon Worlds for smartphones. This is the first time the former Facebook company's proto-metaverse has appeared outside of virtual reality, taking on competitors like Roblox, Fortnite, and Rec Room. The VR version continues to struggle with very low user numbers, according to a YouTuber.
Reboot after development problems
Originally, Mark Zuckerberg announced a smartphone version of Horizon Worlds for early 2022. However, due to technical problems, the implementation was not realized. Instead, the company decided to rebuild the app from scratch.
Meta Horizon Worlds - PC Footage pic.twitter.com/VL0IhbPmKr
— Luna (@Lunayian) August 27, 2023
Selected users can now be placed on a waiting list within the Meta Quest app to try out Horizon Worlds on mobile devices. There is no separate app for now. First images show that the avatars of the mobile version walk through the virtual worlds with legs, unlike their VR counterparts. VR players have been waiting for their legs for meta avatars for almost a year.
Horizon Worlds remains Meta's problem child
With the launch of the mobile version for smartphones and browsers, Meta hopes to breathe new life into its social VR application. Horizon Worlds has been struggling with low user numbers and poor reviews for quite some time. In March, it was revealed that only one in ten players return to Horizon Worlds.
To attract more users, Meta recently lowered the minimum age and promised many improvements in gameplay and graphics, as well as generative AI for Horizon Worlds. So far, the efforts and announcements seem to have had little effect.
According to Meta's data, Horizon Worlds still had about 200,000 monthly users as of October 2022. According to Jarvis Johnson, the number of daily users may have dropped to less than 1,000.
The YouTuber spent every day for a week in Horizon Worlds and hardly counted more than 900 active players. In his video (see above), he talks about empty worlds, low player numbers with a high percentage of children, and a generally poor user experience.
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