Meta unveils Horizon Worlds in France and Spain

Leading social networking heavyweight, Meta has unveiled its main metaverse project, Horizon Worlds, to France and Spain. The social media firm confirmed the development on its handle. According to Meta, the extension of the project to those countries is one of its metaverse offerings to Europe. 

Meta intends to enable every citizen above 18 years in France and Spain to enjoy unrestricted access to the offering. It says this will be possible by using at least one of the VR headsets sold by the firm. The social networking site added that the unveiling of the project in France and Spain reiterates its commitment to spreading the reach of Horizon Worlds across Europe before 2023. 

Recall that the project initially started as an “invite-only closed beta” in 2020. Its full services commenced in the U.S  and Canada in late 2021. In early 2022, Meta extended the offering of the metaverse app to U.K., Ireland, and Iceland-based customers.

The Horizon Worlds offering allows subscribers to gain entry into the VR space. As designed, the subscribers are usually depicted by a configured avatar. This avatar, representing the participant, can explore the world built by other individual or institutional participants.

Javier Olivan, Vice President cross-Meta products and infrastructure, has reacted to the development. According to Olivan, Spain remains a highly significant country for the company. The Vice President noted that Meta is also planning to invest over $1 billion in building a massive data center in Talavera de la Reina. He said Meta sees Spain at the vanguard of European tech. According to the VP, the country possesses “two strong tech hubs, Barcelona and Madrid.”

Additionally, Meta intends to build a new Meta workers’ hub in Madrid. More so, it is planning to unveil a new project, Metaverse Lab, in collaboration with Telefonica. The social networking firm feels its heavy investment in the metaverse will enlarge the space. The imminent metaverse lab project will be designed to enable companies to initiate metaverse-oriented products.

The Spanish government has lauded the initiatives of Meta. However, the government wants the social networking firm to respect the national laws as it undergoes its project offerings in Spain. Additionally, the government cautions Meta on handling user data obtained in its apps. Pedro Sánchez, president of Spain, insisted that the data of the Spanish nationals must remain in Spain and be processed in compliance with the existing local laws.

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