It’s not quite the metaverse, but Meta is launching its virtual world

The company formerly known as Facebook said Thursday that Meta hopes that users will come to Horizon Worlds not just to hang out, but to build more places to play in VR. Meta said Horizon Worlds users have already built thousands of worlds within the app since a private beta test began last year.Horizon Worlds is not the first time Meta and its subsidiary Oculus have tried to popularize social interaction via VR. The company launched virtual hangout apps Oculus Rooms and Facebook Spaces in 2016 and 2017, respectively, which let small groups of users gather in VR. The company shut down both VR apps in October 2019, however. It then announced a virtual social world, which at the time was called Facebook Horizon.The release of Horizon Worlds follows a late-October announcement that Meta will roll out a more personal space for VR users, Horizon Home, and an August announcement of a more work-focused free app for the Quest 2 headset, Horizon Workrooms, which is meant for holding meetings in VR.