An Oculus blog post last week revealed Facebook is set to roll out a $10 million USD creator fund to encourage independent VR developers to design content for its Horizons platform.
The Menlo Park-based firm is rebranding its Facebook Horizon Workroom as “Facebook Horizon Worlds,” marking a change in direction for the beta-version collaborative platform.
Facebook is refocusing the platform to attract consumers-level users with its immersive VR remote communication platform with diverse and fun ‘worlds’ to by enjoyed in multiplayer sessions.
According to Oculus’ blog post, it was revealed that Facebook is supplying developers and creators with various avenues of support along with a $10 million USD grant.
The news comes as Oculus plans to launch a series of competitions later in the year to determine the first, second, and third top creators on the platform, giving all three winners $10K USD.
Interested VR developers can sign up to the competition ahead of time to improve chances of winning.
Facebook also plans to continue its Creator Accelerator programme into early next year to expand and improve on the platform’s diversity and train creators with skills and knowledge needed to develop for Horizon Worlds.
Discussing the Metaverse
The developments come as Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook Founder and Chief Executive is set to address the firm’s Metaverse transition at the upcoming Facebook 2021 Connect Event on October 28.
The event will feature talks between Zuckerberg and John Carmack, Oculus VR Chief Technology Officer, along with others key developers.
Zuckerberg and the social media giant have begun focusing on the Metaverse after announcing a new Metaverse division and later, appointing Andrew Bosworth as Vice President of AR and VR.
Bosworth previously worked at Facebook’s Reality Lab to lead key VR initiatives that have helped Oculus become market leaders. The company also plans to invest $50 million USD to work jointly with organisations and groups to ethically and responsibly build the Metaverse.
