Meta to Charge a Hefty Fee for Virtual Sales in Horizon Worlds
Facebook parent Meta is expanding creators' commerce options in the metaverse, but it plans to take a hefty chunk of the profits.
In Horizon Worlds, Meta's metaverse platform, the company will "roll out a test with a handful of creators that will let them sell virtual items and effects within their worlds," like cosmetic items for player avatars or special access to parts of the world, it explained in a blog post.
It's open to users in the US and Canada over the age of 18. As for fees, the company already gets a 30% platform fee for purchases through the Meta Quest store, and it will take an additional 25% after the platform fee for the in-world sales, leaving creators with just over 50% before taxes, The Verge reports.
That 30% platform fee may not always be applicable. Meta’s VP of Horizon, Vivek Sharma, tells The Verge, “We believe in the other platforms being able to have their share,” referring to the eventual expansion of Horizon Worlds to platforms like mobile or game consoles.
Some creators may be able to earn without these fees in Meta’s Creator Bonus program, which draws from a $10 million creator fund and uses "goal-oriented monthly programs where the creators are paid out at the end of the month for their progress toward the goal.”
The fees Meta will charge creators may strike some as disingenuous after Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg explained on Facebook last November that it wanted to give creators more “opportunities to make money from their work” while specifically calling out Apple’s 30% transaction fee as an impediment in that effort.
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