Horizon Worlds, the metaverse platform of Meta, has some ‘interesting’ ideas on how to move forward in space. Incredibly, they have plans to charge creators up to 47.5% for the items they list for sale, which many consider extortionate.
In the latest blog post by Meta, they announced that they are testing virtual sales inside Horizon Worlds. Significantly, creators can sell fashion accessories for avatars or even offer access to their customized worlds.
The news about the proposed fees is surprising, considering their previous stance on Apple fees. In November, Mark Zuckerberg said, “As we build for the Metaverse, we’re focused on unlocking opportunities for creators to make money from their work. The 30% fees that Apple takes on transactions make it harder to do that, so we’re updating our subscriptions product so now creators can earn more.”
Why is Meta charging creators at a 47.5% rate for Horizon Worlds?
In fact, the reason Meta will charge so much is down to a collection of reasons. Firstly, Meta charges a standard platform fee of 30% for any sales made on Meta Quest (formerly Oculus).
Now, Horizon Worlds, the Metaverse experience, will also charge 25% on top of that. However, although there are concerns in the web 3.0 community, Meta believes this is fair.
Vivek Sharma, Meta’s VP of Horizon, said, “We think it’s a pretty competitive rate in the market. We believe in the other platforms being able to have their share.”
Finally, this is the latest example of Meta attempting to dictate the direction of the Metaverse. But, many are pushing back against this, and the community is not welcoming Meta or Horizon Worlds with the welcome arms they expected.
