Welcome to Mark Zuckerberg’s metaverse.
Facebook launched Horizon Workrooms Thursday, a new virtual-reality remote work app that allows users to put on their Oculus Quest 2 headsets and call into company meetings, all from the comfort of their own home.
“Using features like mixed-reality desk and keyboard tracking, hand tracking, remote desktop streaming, video conferencing integration, spatial audio, and the new Oculus Avatars, we’ve created a different kind of productivity experience,” Facebook said in a statement.
The social media giant bragged about “a virtual whiteboard as big as your ideas,” “a seating layout for every occasion” and “meeting notes, file sharing, calendar integration and chat,” all to create “a more natural and expressive social experience.”
Up to 16 people can use the virtual reality at once, and up to 50 in calls, including video participants.
“The way we work is changing. More people are working remotely, more people want flexible work options, and more people are re-thinking what it means to be in an office,” Facebook said in a statement.
“But without the right connective tools, remote work still has plenty of challenges. Working without colleagues around you can feel isolating at times, and brainstorming with other people just doesn’t feel the same if you’re not in the same room.”
In the past year and a half, fueled by the pandemic, companies have been forced to pivot away from in-person meetings, either using Zoom and Microsoft Teams, conference calls or sticking to simple Slack and emails.
But Zuckerberg has spent the last few months talking in coded phrases about his “metaverse,” an interconnected galaxy straight out of a sci-fi workplace comedy.
Horizon Workrooms is free, as long as you have the Oculus Quest 2 headset, which starts at $299.
