‘Facebook Horizon’ is a New Social VR App Coming to Quest & Rift Next Year, Trailer Here

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Facebook today revealed at Oculus Connect 6 a new social VR app, something the company calls “the first step into an ever-expanding world of connection and exploration.” Although it’s clear the announcement trailer isn’t a 1:1 representation of how Horizon will actually look, it basically feels like the social VR app Facebook should have built all along.

Horizon promises to let people design their own avatars from a preset array of style and body options. To move between spaces, Horizon also uses portals—something they call ‘telepods’—which can take you from public spaces to games and experiences built by Facebook, like Wing Strikers, a multiplayer flying experience.

“Starting with a bustling town square where people will meet and mingle, the Horizon experience then expands to an interconnected world where people can explore new places, play games, build communities, and even create their own new experiences,” the studio says in a blogpost.

Image courtesy Facebook

It’s not all Facebook-built spaces though, as the company says they’ll be including a World Builder, which will include a collection of creator tools that lets you build your own space without the need of coding experience.

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All of this, the company says, comes with safety tools and “human guides,” or moderators that are tasked with answering questions and providing assistance. The app is said to include blocking and reporting functions as well.

With the entrance of Horizon, the company will be shutting down Facebook Spaces and Oculus Rooms on October 25th, which should cut down on what up until now has been a pretty fractured smattering of concurrent social VR apps run by Facebook/Oculus.

An open beta for Facebook Horizon will launch early next year. Sign-ups are now available.

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Well before the first modern XR products hit the market, Scott recognized the potential of the technology and set out to understand and document its growth. He has been professionally reporting on the space for nearly a decade as Editor at Road to VR, authoring more than 4,000 articles on the topic. Scott brings that seasoned insight to his reporting from major industry events across the globe.
  • Darshan

    Now this is it FB OASIS….guyz ready for ‘Ready player one’ happening to you.

    • Tailgun

      Except in this version, IOI is already in charge of The Oasis….

      • Darshan

        Now its how you see it….really how you see it. Who said IOI wasn’t fun. They never got chance to display ads after all, they could be creative.

  • Darshan

    This means Mr.Mark is James Halliday or was it P.Luckey

  • Jarilo

    That video had levels of cringe I couldn’t dream possible.

  • gothicvillas

    Looks like Rec Room. Not a fan of these graphics but I understand they need to cater for Quest

  • sfmike

    As the video shows, something for your wife to play while you make dinner. It’s interesting how every new game is only marketed to women as I guess men are to toxic now to be acknowledged as the core computer game base.

  • impurekind

    So, what makes this better than something like Rec Room (which we already have and is already great)?

  • Hi FB, is there another video for folks with above rabbit-level IQs?