Meta's Metaverse App Horizon Worlds to Get Graphics Overhaul
Mark
Zuckerberg, the CEO of Meta has decided to overhaul the company’s flagship metaverse app,
Horizon Worlds after it received negative feedback and generated poor reviews
due to outdated graphics. The backlash was a consequence of one of the
selfies of Zuckerberg’s avatar used to illustrate the launch of the platform in
Spain and France.
New Graphical Style for Horizon Worlds
Mark
Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, a social media and VR company, announced a series of
changes to Horizon Worlds, Meta’s metaverse-focused app, to make it more
immersive and visually impressive for users.
Zuckerberg
delivered the news via an Instagram post, where he showed off the new graphical
style that the platform will use in the future. He explained:
"Major
updates to Horizon and avatar graphics coming soon... The graphics in Horizon
are capable of much more — even on headsets — and Horizon is improving very
quickly."
The
announced overhaul is in consequence of the backlash that originated from a
selfie of his avatar used to announce the launch of Horizon Worlds in Spain and
France, which some users dubbed as outdated due to simple graphics.
As Zuckerberg explains:
"The
graphics of the image prompted influencers, columnists, and everyday users to
criticize Meta." Kevin Roose of the New York Times stated:
"It’s
genuinely puzzling that Meta spent more than USD 10 billion on VR last year and
the graphics in its flagship app still look worse than a 2008 Wii game."
Others
also criticized the company, comparing the graphics shown to pre-2000 tech
versions. Emily Gorcenski, a U.S. activist and data analyst, said:
"Come
work for Meta, where the most brilliant technologists of the day have achieved
1995-level graphics."
However, Zuckerberg explained the graphics of the digital selfie,
"I
know the photo I posted earlier this week was pretty basic—it was taken very
quickly to celebrate a launch."
The
criticism comes as Meta has been investing a significant amount of funds into
its metaverse unit, Reality Labs. While the unit registered sales of more than
USD 400 million during Q2 2022, its losses reached USD 2.8 billion during the
same period. The company issued USD 10 billion in bonds earlier this
month to keep funding its operations, including its metaverse division.
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