Meta has started testing new forms of monetization within its metaverse. For a few days now, selected developers have been able to sell virtual goods in the metaverse of Meta — a virtual environment called Horizon Worlds. With this new monetization feature, developers, for example, can sell NFTs, or non-fungible tokens, through their Horizon Worlds platform.
But creators who create and sell digital assets on Meta’s Horizon Worlds will earn slightly less than expected as the company plans to keep almost 50% of the revenue from purchases made within its virtual world — according to CNBC.
Meta will request a 47.5% commission for each purchase made within the Horizon Worlds. The 47.5% at Meta consists of two components. First, the company Meta Quest, which belongs to the group, charges a commission of 30% in its store. Then there are sales fees of 17.5% in Horizon Worlds itself. That makes a total of 47.5%.
The news does not go down well with developers. The Cnet found some posts on Twitter with critical voices.
47.5% commission for purchases made in the metaverse is much more than what Apple and Google currently ask developers for the sale of applications and services within each app store.
Both companies, in fact, ask for a 30% commission on those platforms that exceed an annual turnover of one million dollars. This is reduced to 15% on newer apps or those that do not reach the million-dollar barrier in revenue. And also, recently, Apple allowed some developers to include third-party payment options in their apps.
Earlier, Mark Zuckerberg had only criticized the competitor Apple in a post on Facebook in November 2021 because a 30% commission is usually due in its ecosystem.
The Meta must make money from the metaverse to be successful, but with a 47.5% commission, it can be difficult to convince developers to create content for Horizon Worlds. However, the company may decide to lower its fees ahead of the global rollout of Horizon Worlds.
