Meta Considers Free-to-Play Shift as Quest Attracts Surge of New Users

Meta’s journey into the metaverse is charging ahead, and it’s the younger crowd along with mainstream users who are steering the Quest platform’s course throughout 2024. Samantha Ryan, the Vice President of Metaverse Content, notes that this shift could pave the way for free-to-play content to really take off.

In a developer blog post, Ryan reflected on the notable changes in user habits over the past year, largely spurred by newcomers to the Quest ecosystem. “This year, we’ve seen a surge in device sales, and users are logging more hours on the new Quest 3S than any previous headset right from launch,” Ryan shared. “There’s also been an uptick in spending across the Quest range, with total payment volume climbing 12% in 2024, owing greatly to the boom in in-app purchasing.”

The success of free-to-play games hinges on these in-app purchases, as demonstrated by Another Axiom’s virtual reality sensation, Gorilla Tag. The game raked in over $100 million last summer mostly through in-game cosmetic sales.

“We’re building a platform that puts social experiences first, and these younger users are gravitating towards multiplayer experiences and social hangouts,” Ryan continues. “This trend is fueling the rise of free-to-play games, which we’ve seen before on other platforms. Horizon Worlds is also drawing in more younger users.”

Meta’s CTO Andrew Bosworth weighed in on the company’s direction regarding their social platform, emphasizing in a memo that getting the mobile version of Horizon Worlds to succeed is critical for their long-term ambitions.

“We anticipate that free-to-play will become a widely feasible approach for developers who have mainly focused on premium apps till now. But we believe that free-to-play and premium apps will both have their place,” Ryan comments.

The Quest community of VR fans, who demand high-quality premium experiences, “continues to be a backbone of this thriving ecosystem,” with existing Quest device owners accounting for a notable portion of sales as they upgrade, 27% to Quest 3 and 20% to Quest 3S during the year.

However, as Ryan points out, most of the new device sales in 2024 weren’t from enthusiasts upgrading, but from brand new users. “The typical VR enthusiast doesn’t encapsulate the whole Quest user base anymore,” Ryan explains.

Regarding traditional media consumption, Ryan notes that while 2D apps and internet browsers haven’t historically been the stars of Quest devices, their use has been on the rise in recent years. “Since launching Quest 3, we’ve been enhancing our OS with multitasking, theater mode, and immersive audio, all to support this growing customer group.” In 2024, Ryan mentions, there was a 10% hike in monthly per-user time in media apps and a 21% increase in default browser usage.

Meta appears to be reaching a critical juncture, aiming to satisfy the high expectations of early adopters while embracing the revenue opportunities offered by social and free-to-play content. The company faces the challenge of navigating this growth without alienating either end of its user spectrum. How much Meta leans on in-app spending for sustaining its developer ecosystem remains to be seen, but it’s clear that they need to balance this growth carefully.