Meta's virtual reality avatars now have...legs
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg introduced a new, more detailed kind of Horizon Worlds avatar today that he called a "mode between video off and video on." And it has legs!
These avatars were made for walkin'
Building legs for avatars has taken Meta some time to perfect — hence, all these floating torsos in the metaverse up until now. As the company explained, "legs are hard!" Real-life legs that are blocked from the headsets's view won't render correctly. And disembodied or wrongly placed legs would be a truly disturbing sight for users. Now that Meta can confidently ensure that legs and torsos line up accurately with Quest 2 and Quest Pro, your full body will be present within VR.
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Avatar legs will make their debut in Horizon Worlds first and will be added to other experiences "over time as [Meta's] technology improves," reads the announcement.
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Zuckerberg says you'll be able to use these avatars across Meta's apps and, via a partnership with Zoom, you can even show up as your avatar in video meetings. Meta's extending the avatar SDK to Android and iOS, too, so these avatars can be built into mobile apps.
Other avatar updates
Meta is also making a concerted effort to expand avatar customization to include a diverse variety of skin tones, abilities, facial features, as well as hair and clothing styles.
Depending on how fancy you want to get, soon you'll also be able to buy virtual Prada and Balenciaga threads (among other familiar brands) at the Meta Avatar Store, which is launching in the metaverse later this year. Meta's hoping "this will kickstart a marketplace for interoperable digital goods" so you can show off your avatar's clothes within any VR app, even if it's not owned by Meta.
Here's a sneak peek of what's ahead:
And here's Zuck being...just as awkward in VR as he is IRL:
Topics Virtual Reality Meta
Elizabeth is a digital culture reporter covering the internet's influence on self-expression, fashion, and fandom. Her work explores how technology shapes our identities, communities, and emotions. Before joining Mashable, Elizabeth spent six years in tech. Her reporting can be found in Rolling Stone, The Guardian, TIME, and Teen Vogue. Follow her on Instagram here.
