Mark Zuckerberg says Meta will test virtual sales for Horizon Worlds

dead CEO Mark Zuckerberg wants to make it easier for people to spend and make money on the virtual reality platform Horizon Worlds, which is an integral part of Meta’s plan to create a so-called “metaverse”.

In a video posted late Monday as part of BlogThe tech billionaire said Meta is testing new tools that allow creators to sell virtual assets and experiences in the worlds they build on Horizon.

“The ability to sell virtual items and access objects within worlds is a new part of [the] The e-commerce equation in general,” Zuckerberg said.

“We’re starting to bring this up with a few of the creators and we’ll see how it goes, but I imagine overtime we’ll start rolling it out more and more.”

Meta said someone could make and sell attachable accessories for a fashion-focused environment or offer paid access to a new part of a particular world, for example.

Over the past few months, companies and individuals have snapped up everything from art to real estate in virtual worlds on platforms like Decentraland and The SandBox. Hip-hop star Snoop Dogg has bought a virtual land and One fan paid $450,000 In December to buy a plot of land adjacent to him in Sandbox.

Buying and selling digital assets was previously not possible in Horizon Worlds, but the company knows that there is money to be made in the metaverse. Indeed, Citibank Estimates The reverse economy could be worth between $8 trillion and $13 trillion by 2030.

“The equation – by its nature of not being restricted by physical space – will bring a new level of creativity and open new opportunities for the next generation of creators and companies to pursue their passion and create their livelihood,” Meta said in the blog post.

In addition to in-world purchases, some virtual world creators in the US will also be paid directly from Meta for their efforts.

“People who build great worlds, we’re basically just creating some funds to help make up for it and reward people who are doing a great job here at Horizon,” Zuckerberg said.

The rewards will be based around goal-oriented monthly programs where creators are paid at the end of the month for their progress toward the goal.

Meta said creators would be rewarded for building worlds that “attract the most time spent.” The company said it may adjust the metrics that are measured and reward creators on them in the future.

Meta launched the $10 million Horizon Creators Fund last October. It’s not clear how much additional Meta is allocating to paying creators in Horizon Worlds or how much each creator can earn.

“Creator monetization is really important because you all need to support yourself and make a good living by building these great experiences that people can have,” said Zuckerberg, one of the richest people in the world.

“The detailed format that Meta maintains has been elusive for many years,” Matt Navarra, a social media consultant, told CNBC.

He added that there are still many question marks about how it is used and how popular it is.

“Turning Meta on monetization tools is a smart move to help launch some kind of creative economy into the metaverse,” Navarra said. “But for most brands and creators, the metaverse will still be something to watch closely for the near term.”

He added, “For many creators, TikTok, Instagram and YouTube are at the heart of the creators’ economy. They are tried and tested sources of income. Metaverse is just starting to find success.”