Facebook rebrands its VR social network by removing ‘Facebook’ from the name

After two years in beta, Facebook Horizon is getting some big changes, including a brand new name. Facebook Horizon, the VR extension of the company’s social network, will henceforth be known as Horizon Worlds to better fit the app’s function. Facebook is also launching a new creator’s program as it shifts to using its own world creation tools exclusively, hoping to entice content creators to join them in making rich VR worlds.

If you’re an Oculus Quest or Oculus Quest 2 owner, you can head to the sign-up page to register for the Horizon Worlds beta and see what all the hubbub is about. Once accepted, you can download the fancy new Horizon Worlds update and get to exploring all sorts of virtual worlds with friends and strangers, alike.

If you’ve ever played any of the best Roblox games, you’ll get an idea of the organization of Horizon Worlds. Players create their own avatar and can take that new online identity into hundreds (or thousands) of different worlds to explore. Each world is completely different and may include games, social spaces to hang out it, or even ticketed virtual events to attend, like concerts or plays.

In essence, Facebook is looking to replicate real-life with something like Horizon Worlds rather than the concept of social media as we currently know it. It’s certainly hard to escape the fact that Facebook removed its own name from the platform, though, no doubt making many wonder about its plans for the concept, at large.

Facebook’s own blog post on the update details the new $10 million Creator Fund that will help incentivize folks to make new and better virtual worlds for everyone to inhabit. They’ll even be running community competitions for creators that include up to $10,000 in cash prizes for the winners. If you’re interested, definitely check out Horizon Worlds and see what you can create.