Social network company Meta has expanded its flagship Metaverse app, Horizon Worlds, to Spain and France. The move is part of Meta’s expansion plans to offer these services in more European countries this year. The app was available as an invitation-only service in 2020, and was just launched to the public in December 2021 for the U.S. and Canadian markets.
Meta expands App Horizon Worlds to Spain and France
Social media conglomerate Meta is expanding its Metaverse offering to Europe. The company recently announced the launch of Horizon Worlds, one of its flagship Metaverse apps, in Spain and France. The company announced in a postthat all citizens of these countries over the age of 18 will have the opportunity to enjoy this service using one of the VR headsets the company sells
Horizon Worlds is a service that allows users to experience VR worlds represented by configurable avatars and walk around in worlds created by other players and experiences developed by the company. The two-country launch is part of a move to launch Horizon Worlds in more European countries by 2023.
Available to users as a closed, invitation-only beta starting in 2020, the app launched in the U.S. and Canada last December, followed by the release of the platform to U.K., Ireland and Iceland-based customers this year.
Plans Focus on Spain
Spain is a particularly important country for the company, which has decided to invest over $1 billion to build a huge data centerin the Talavera de la Reina region. In this regard, Javier Olivan, Vice President of CrossMeta Products and Infrastructure, declared.
Spain is at the forefront of European technology. The country benefits from having two strong high-tech hubs. Barcelona and Madrid. We are preparing to help build the metaverse and have put Spain at the center of our plans.
In addition, a new Meta Workers’ Hub will be built in Madrid. Another project is the Metaverse Lab, which the company is building with Telefonica to attract companies that manufacture Metaverse-based products.
But the Spanish government also requiresMeta to respect national laws regarding the company’s handling of user data collected by its apps. According to local media, Spanish President Pedro Sanchez stressed that “the data of Spaniards must remain in Spain and be processed according to local law.”
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