Meta is starting to realize the potential of the metaverse as a place for buying and selling online. They are piloting ways to shop and earn money on Horizon Worlds' virtual reality (VR) platform.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said his company is piloting new tools that will allow creators to sell virtual assets and experiences within the worlds they create on Horizon Worlds.
"We started rolling this out with just a handful of content creators and we'll see how it goes but I imagine that over time we'll roll out more and more," Zuckerberg said in a blog post. /2022).
The types of products that creators can sell in the metaverse range from virtual items such as accessories or special skins, to paid VIP access to the worlds they create.
Horizon Worlds is a virtual world that can be accessed using an Oculus VR headset in the US and Canada. So far, Horizon Worlds has not supported buying and selling digital assets, but Meta seems to be aware of the huge potential for cash in the metaverse, which is predicted to reach USD 8-13 trillion by 2030.
"Metaverse -- essentially not limited by physical space -- will bring new levels of creativity and open up new opportunities for the next generation of creators and businesses to pursue their passions and create a livelihood," said Meta.
Just like buying and selling in the app store, Meta will take a commission from every virtual item sold by the creator. For every item sold on Horizon Worlds, Meta will collect 30% commission via the Oculus platform, and 25% of the rest will be collected by Meta App Store.
Apart from buying and selling digital assets, some creators in the US also have the opportunity to get paid from Meta for their creations. Creators are entitled to receive bonuses after building a virtual world that attracts the most visitors to spend their time.
Meta launched the $10 million Horizon Creators Fund last October, but it's unknown how much it budgets to pay creators or how much they can bring home.
"Creator monetization is very important because you all need to support yourself and make a living by building amazing experiences that these people can experience," Zuckerberg said.