The next stage of Meta’s metaverse push is coming, with Meta now inviting people to apply to join the beta test for Horizon Worlds on mobile devices, which will provide another access point into its VR social environment.

As you can see in this example, Horizon Worlds on mobile will function much like gaming apps, with users able to control their avatar on-screen, and interact with VR players.

Though the VR avatars don’t have legs yet, an ongoing point of angst, while mobile players do, so Meta’s still working out some of the presentation kinks and variances.

The introduction of Horizon Worlds on mobile will enable a lot more people to engage in Meta’s advanced digital environment, which will eventually become the foundational space of its next-level social interaction push.

Meta’s hope is that people will soon engage via their avatars in all-new ways, for an increasing amount of activities, which will then usher in the broader metaverse experience, and encourage expanded VR take-up.

By interacting via mobile, in a game-like experience, Meta’s looking to lean into how the next-generation of consumers are accustomed to conducting their everyday social interactions. Kids don’t ride their bikes to meet-up at the local park like they used to, the majority of their interactions with friends are now online, in game worlds like Fortnite, Minecraft, and Roblox.

As this next generation gets older, Meta’s view is that they’ll be keen to expand those interactions into a broader set of activities, which is why the Horizon Worlds mobile experience could play an important role in migrating users into more immersive, expanded environments, and eventually, more immersive VR experiences.

And with its next-level Quest 3 headset coming soon, the Horizon mobile app could be getting a broader roll out at just the right time, in order to bring together a potential influx of VR gamers and mobile users who want to take part.

It’s a key step, which could help to drive metaverse take-up, even if it still seems like the metaverse is not really a thing, and hasn’t gained traction with crucial adopters.

That could still be coming, and this is another bridge to that next stage.

You can learn more about the Horizon Worlds beta here.