Meta’s next push on its broader Metaverse initiative will see it make a bigger effort to entice younger users across to its VR experience through new games and creation features, which will ideally attract a whole new crowd to its much-maligned virtual environment. On this front, Meta has recently announced that it’ll be opening up access to its Horizon Worlds VR sandbox tool to users aged 13 to 17.
“Until now, Worlds has been limited to those 18 and up, but Meta Quest is rated 13+, so we’re excited to begin opening Worlds to teens ages 13 to 17 in the US and Canada in the coming weeks with a robust set of age-appropriate protections and safety defaults. Now, teens will be able to explore immersive worlds, play games like Arena Clash and Giant Mini Paddle Golf, enjoy concerts and live comedy events, connect with others from around the world, and express themselves as they create their own virtual experiences.”
Jump In, Kids!
Of course, this comes with a level of concern around potential exposure to unsavory elements in the app. Already, Horizon users have recounted sexual assault, and even virtual rape within the VR environment, which has prompted Meta to add a range of new safety features. Such features will be bolstered for younger users, with Meta outlining default settings and tools that parents and teens will have access to.
Parents will have expanded oversight capacity through Meta’s Family Center for Worlds, through which they’ll be able to stay across who their kids are interacting with, and what they’re doing within VR worlds and spaces. Meta already has its potential boundary tools, which restrict how other VR avatars can interact. Meanwhile, it’s also rolling out some expanded protection tools specifically for teens, including default restrictions on active status and location, and a new Voice mode that will disguise avatar voices.
Despite this, Meta further notes that it’ll be rolling our Horizon Worlds access to teens very slowly so that it can further assess potential problems and gaps in its safeties. At the same time, connecting with younger users seems like the best way to maximize VR take-up, through immersive experiences that can better align them with their gaming characters, as well as their real-world friends who can join them online. This has now become the norm – gone are the days that kids would meet up and ride their bikes around the culdesac. Instead, they jump online, meet up virtually, and either chat, game, or both. These interactions are what made Roblox, Fortnite, and Minecraft hugely popular.
The Wrap
If Meta can hook these younger audiences, they can end up being the ideal target audience for when the Metaverse actually takes shape, provided that it does catch on. Meta itself stated that the Metaverse is going to take years before it can release a usable, workable prototype. The Metaverse seems to continuously develop and improve, which should eventually see more young people buying in.
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