Gerry Palmers Tech 08.19.2022 23:Aug PM EDT

Mark Zuckerberg Says Updates are on the Way for Horizon Worlds After His Own VR Avatar Gets Mocked

Mark Zuckerberg said there are planned major updates to the company's VR graphics after the Meta chairman and CEO's own VR avatar was widely mocked.

This comes after Horizon World shared a screenshot of Zuckerberg's avatar in a viral Twitter post.

Zuckerberg said Meta will share more details about the update at the company's forthcoming Connect conference.

'Drab, Amateurish' Zuckerberg VR Avatar

The images were first shared last week with a Horizon Worlds announcement that it was launching in France and Spain. The screenshot showed a nearly unremarkable Zuckerberg avatar in front of a VR Eiffel Tower and Barcelona's Sagrada Familia.

Twitter users immediately mocked the Zuckerberg avatar they called as drab and amateurish. These Twitter users asked why Zuckerberg's avatar was so dull and featureless when Meta has spent billions of dollars and staked its future on the metaverse.

Hoizon Worlds is Meta's social VR environment.

Though Zuckerberg did not directly respond to the criticism, he did acknowledge hat the avatar's graphics was "pretty basic," and promised enhancements. Zuckerberg's latest post now included two new, much more detailed and vibrant images: his avatar and some ancient ruins.

Zuckerberg Admits Avatar Graphics 'Pretty Basic'

Zuckerberg said he knew that the photo he shared earlier in the week was"pretty basic," saying it was rendered in a rush" to celebrate a launch." He emphasized that the VR graphics in Horizon "are capable of much more - even on headsets - and Horizon is improving very quickly."

The new images indeed look better with better lighting and Zuckerberg's avatar now has an actual expression. However, these still are not appealing to draw much attention or for onlookers to spend more time in, but then again, beauty even in the VR world or the metaverse is in the eye of the beholder.

Horizon Worlds is available on Quest VR headsets. It now has ballooned to 300,000 users since its December 2021 launch. Last February, the Horizon Worlds Twitter account shared that more than 10,000 worlds had been created. Meta, however has not been cdefinite about plans in moderating the platform.

Meta is presently expanding offerings in Horizon Worlds, such as making it available on mobile phones. Horizon Worlds also unveiled "in-world purchases" for its creators, a ssetup that makes it similar to Roblox.

Robox is also promising better graphics in an attempt to entice users to hop in its metaverse. Roblox announced in July that it was likewise updating its traditionally simple, low-res graphics, and that its end goal was "replicate the real world,"Roblox's Josh Anon said in an interview with Protocol.

Graphics are just a secondary element to what you actually do with them in the metaverse. Even if Meta's new visuals reach the level of, such environments as "Fortnite," drawing people to the metaverse should include planning and implementing interesting real world-like activities.