Horizon Worlds is getting some significant updates to its creator tools.
Creators will be able to import textured 3D models made in professional PC software instead of having to build everything from shapes inside VR. They’ll also be able to import Creative Commons licensed content from model hosting service Sketchfab, which was acquired by Epic Games last year.
Today Horizon Worlds works similarly to Rec Room, allowing users to create social experiences inside VR by using controllers to place & manipulate shapes and using a visual scripting system to add dynamic functionality. But its crude graphics faced widespread ridicule in August after Mark Zuckerberg shared a screenshot to mark its launch in France & Spain.
The ability to import models & textures should enable worlds with significantly improved graphics quality. “We started with simple graphics, and we’re doing a ton of work to meaningfully improve how Horizon will look and feel over the next year – the metaverse needs to feel inspiring”, Meta’s CTO Andrew Bosworth said.
Horizon Worlds is also getting support for TypeScript, a popular programming language based on JavaScript, mostly used on the web. Meta says this will enable “more dynamic and interactive worlds.”
Meta didn’t reveal exactly when these major updates will ship, but did say it will “take a while”.
Meta will also bring Horizon Worlds to the web to enable any device to access it – including from a URL that can be shared via apps like Messenger and WhatsApp. In a notable claim that rests on how one defines “a virtual world,” Meta claims this will be “the first way a lot of people around the world experience a virtual world.”
And in case you missed it: the Meta Avatars used in Horizon will get a significant graphics update too, coming next year.
