Toni Dimaano Tech 10.16.2022 23:Oct PM EDT

Meta's Woes with Horizon Worlds: Not Enough Users Who Check It Out, Stick Around

Metaverse flagship app Horizon Worlds stumbles as it fails to keep users and falls short of goals, according to internal documents.

Reports say that Meta is struggling with its numbers since fewer people have been checking out the virtual reality platform, while those who stay leave after the first month, CNET writes.

Horizon Worlds Is Not The Success Meta Expects It To Be

Almost a year into Meta's transition to VR, internal reports show that the immersive online experience is falling short of performance expectations.

According to The Wall Street Journal, the company initially set a goal of reaching 500,000 active monthly users for the app by the end of the year, but has failed so far.

Internal documents reveal that Meta has revised the goal to 280,000 recently, but still did not meet the number with only 200,000 active users, including some employees.

Additionally, Horizon Worlds generally do not see users return after the first month with about 91% of the worlds built by creators rarely or never have been visited at all.

"An empty world is a sad world," the internal document expressed in relation with the company's key metaverse offering, CNet claims.

PC World says that Meta originally launched the Horizon Worlds app as a productivity solution that allows meetings to take place in a customizable virtual space.

Horizon is designed as a collection of interactive virtual spaces and worlds, wherein users can shop, party, and work as their avatars.

With this, Meta has allegedly put Horizon Worlds on a quality lockdown to focus on bugs and complaints, preventing it from receiving any new features, The Indian Express reports.

Zuckerberg Covers Up Trouble With Meta Quest Pro

Meta shares that their market value has gone down more than 60% last year, losing $700 million in the process due to Horizon Worlds' troubles.

With this, CNBC states that in order to build some excitement for the virtual reality application, the Meta CEO has launched the company's newest VR headset, Meta Quest Pro.

This device reportedly costs $1,500, and contains new technologies that allow advanced mobile computer chips to function with it.

CNBC reports that a Meta spokesperson told The Wall Street Journal that the company has pledged to make improvements continuously to the metaverse.

This is also following the results of a survey that shows Horizon users dissatisfied with the metaverse worlds, along with the difficulty in finding other people to hang out with.

The number of Horizon Worlds users currently trails behind competitor VR Chat and Second life, which are both focused on the social aspect of virtual reality.

The Wall Street Journal also writes that Meta has since delayed metaverse-related projects as disagreement arises within the company regarding utility preferences for Horizon Worlds.

Nonetheless, Meta plans to expand users' experiences by integrating the virtual reality application in the web for mobile devices and computers in the future.