Meta Considers Free-to-Play Model Amid Surge of New Quest Users

Meta’s vision for the metaverse is evolving swiftly, mainly influenced by a younger audience and everyday users who are redefining the Quest platform throughout 2024. According to Samantha Ryan, VP of Metaverse Content at Meta, this shift could lead to a surge in free-to-play content.

In a recent developer blog post, Ryan shed light on significant changes in user behavior from the past year, largely spurred by an influx of newcomers to the Quest ecosystem. “Compared to the previous year, sales of Quest devices saw a rise in 2024, with users spending more time on Quest 3S than any other headset at launch,” Ryan shared. “Additionally, spending across Quest devices increased, with total payment volume rising by 12% due to a notable increase in in-app purchases.”

A large part of free-to-play games relies on these in-app purchases. A prime example is Gorilla Tag, a VR sensation from Another Axiom, which surpassed $100 million in gross revenue last summer, mainly thanks to in-game cosmetic sales.

Ryan further explained, “We’re creating a platform with a social-first approach. Younger users prefer hanging out with friends through multiplayer games and social apps, driving the rise of free-to-play titles, a trend we’ve seen on other platforms before. We’re also seeing more young users engaging with Horizon Worlds.”

Meta’s CTO, Andrew Bosworth, emphasized the importance of their cross-compatible social platform in a leaked memo, stating that the mobile version of Horizon Worlds “needs to succeed for our long-term plans to flourish.”

Ryan anticipates the free-to-play (F2P) model to become viable for developers, who have traditionally depended on premium apps. She doesn’t see F2P replacing premium apps; instead, she envisions both models coexisting.

Despite these changes, Quest’s community of VR enthusiasts, who demand premium content, “remains crucial to this expanding ecosystem,” Ryan notes. Existing Quest owners fueled a wave of sales as they upgraded from previous models, with such users making up 27% of Quest 3 and 20% of Quest 3S sales for the year.

However, Ryan points out that the bulk of new Quest users in 2024 weren’t upgrading enthusiasts; they were entirely new to VR. “The well-known traits of VR enthusiasts no longer define the full Quest userbase,” she says.

Traditional media and entertainment consumption has seen minimal interaction historically on Quest devices, though usage has been on the rise. Ryan shared that the use of 2D apps has increased since the launch of Quest 3. Improvements in the operating system, like multitasking, theater mode, and immersive audio, are meant to support this growing user demographic. In 2024, time spent in media apps increased by 10% per user per month, with a 21% uptick in the use of Quest’s default internet browser.

Meta seems to be at a crossroad, aiming to meet early adopters’ expectations for premium content while also capitalizing on the revenue potential of free-to-play, social content. The company’s challenge lies in expanding without alienating any part of their diverse user base. The future may rely increasingly on in-app spending, and while that poses risks of fostering surface-level engagement strategies, Meta’s task is to balance growth with depth.