MARK Zuckerberg is building a “metaverse store” where you’ll be able to buy virtual goods for real money.
Eventually anyone will be able to create and sell items and “worlds” inside the store.
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The billionaire Meta CEO who founded Facebook revealed his plans in a short video filmed inside the metaverse.
Zuckerberg’s store will be in Horizon, a virtual metaverse world that’s accessed through Meta’s Oculus VR headset.
Horizon already exists and can be enjoyed today, but Zuckerberg has finally revealed his plans for “monetisation”.
“You all need to be able to support yourself and make a good living,” said Zuckerberg, speaking in the metaverse.
“We’re still pretty early in the journey but some of the stuff that you’re all building is exciting and awesome.”
The “store” won’t be a shop in the conventional sense.
Instead, it’ll be more like a purchasing system within Horizon.
Horizon is made up of lots of smaller worlds that players create and then explore together.
Zuckerberg wants Horizon players to be able to sell access to some of these worlds.
And once you’re inside a world, Zuckerberg plans for you to be able to purchase goods within them.
These goods – which could be a virtual jacket, jetpack or jumbo jet – are intended to be portable, so you can carry them through the metaverse into other worlds.
So it’ll be like an app store, a shopping mall and video game system all in one.
“The ability to sell virtual goods and take them with you from one world to another is going to be an important part of it,” Zuckerberg explained.
“But first there needs to be things that people want to buy to get that economy going.
“It requires a lot of experimentation and creativity.”
Meta is now rolling out a test with a select group of creators to let them sell virtual items and effects within their own worlds.
The tech giant used the example of fashion accessories or access to premium metaverse worlds.
Purchasing is currently limited to metaverse residents aged 18 or over in the US or Canada.
“Over time we want there to just be a tonne of awesome worlds, and for that to happen there needs to be a lot of creators who can support themselves and make this their job and make a living,” Zuckerberg told fellow metaverse citizens.
“There’s gotta be good ways for people to make money.
“For some people it’ll be selling things in worlds, access to worlds, sponsorships and streaming it to other places.”
The metaverse is like a collection of connected digital worlds that you can explore in many different ways.
It’ll be a bit like the internet, but more immersive, and centred around experiences.
Zuckerberg’s Horizon is just one example of a metaverse system.
Tech giant Facebook has poured billions of dollars into building the “metaverse” already – and recently vowed to hire another 10,000 staff to work on the project.
“The metaverse – by nature of its not being limited by physical space – will bring a new level of creativity,” Meta explained.
“And open up new opportunities for the next generation of creatures and businesses to pursue their passions and create livelihoods.
“Creators and entrepreneurs will have more freedom to find a business model that works for them.”
If you want to try Mark Zuckerberg’s metaverse, the best way is to buy an Oculus Quest 2.
That’s Facebook’s $299/£299 VR headset, which is a cheap way to get room-scale virtual reality and hand-tracking without a connected PC.
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