Meta said to tweak Horizon metaverse app to keep users, let teens have access
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Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) is reportedly working on making significant changes to its Horizon Worlds metaverse app in an effort to better retain users, while also opening up the app to teenagers for the first time.
Vice President of Horizon Gabriel Aul sent a memo to the rest of the team laying out the objectives for the first-half of 2023, with the top initiative to retain users, including among teens and young adults, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
The memo also wants to open up Horizon to teens between 13 and 17 years of age, a move that could come as soon as next month, the news outlet added, citing the people.
Aul wrote that the company's competitors are doing a "much better job" of meeting the needs of these "cohorts," and for Horizon to succeed, this cohort needs to be served "first and foremost."
Horizon is part of Meta's (META) Reality Labs unit, which the company spent nearly $16B in 2022 as it looks to build out its metaverse strategy. In the fourth-quarter, Reality Labs accounted for $727M in quarterly sales, largely due to sales of its Quest virtual reality headsets. 
In addition to improving retention for the game, which had a weekly retention rate of around 11% in January, the news outlet added, Horizon wants to grow its user base significantly. Aul and Horizon set a goal of 500,000 monthly active users by the first-half of this year, with 1M by the end of the year.
For comparison purposes, it had just 200,000 monthly active users at the end of December, the people added.
The company is working with outside gaming studios to develop new worlds and experiences for Horizon in an effort to expand its user base and content for the app.
On Monday, it was reported that the Federal Trade Commission would not appeal its loss in a suit where the agency tried to prevent Meta Platforms' (META) from acquiring virtual reality start-up Within Unlimited.