LIVE FROM FYUZ22, MADRID: Meta Platforms remained unwavering in its commitment to metaverse development despite a storm following Q3 numbers which showed massive losses related to the move, with senior director of product development Austin Chang (pictured) standing by plans to broaden access to its Horizon Worlds platform in 2023.

Speaking a day after Meta Platforms predicted expenses in 2023 could reach $101 billion due, in part to its investment in metaverse and AI development, Chang explained it continued to plan to go beyond the current VR-only version of Horizon Worlds by making it available on PCs and smartphones.

“You will be able to quickly set up an account, create an avatar for yourself and enter this 3D immersive space,” Chang said, noting Meta Platforms believes the expansion “will open up the opportunities of the metaverse to more people”.

This would inevitably broaden the revenue-generating opportunities of Meta Platform’s investment in the metaverse concept, in theory addressing the growing dissent among its investors.

Chang noted previous internet and hardware developments had essentially empowered people to become creators of high-resolution photo and video content, and explained Meta Platforms considers “3D immersion is a natural step in this progression and that’s why we believe in our vision of the metaverse”.

The executive conceded Meta Platforms cannot go it alone, noting to achieve its vision of an “open and interoperable” metaverse will require “a lot of partnerships”.

He explained developments in computing hardware and “interoperable technologies” can only happen with internet connectivity: “it’s really the lifeblood of this”, Chang noted, adding collaboration will be key to ensuring networks are made “metaverse-ready”.