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.
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.
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.
