Facebook launches a Sims-like virtual reality office — but it's really a door to the metaverse

Your 3rd grade dream come true... Spending the entire day as an avatar — minus the desk job. Yesterday, Facebook launched an open test of a virtual-reality remote work app: "Horizon Workspaces." Think The Sims — but instead of swimming in giant pools and proposing to strangers, avatars are reviewing sales decks and doing accounting. Zuck's avatar is... interesting.

• How it works: You need a pair of $300 Oculus Quest 2 headsets to access the free workspace as an avatar — If not, you'll appear as a videoconference square (#awk).
• What you do: Meet in VR conference rooms with your avatar colleagues, collab on whiteboards and files, and bring your computer into VR as you sit in front of it IRL (#meta).

Shoulda called it "Meta Meets"... Facebook calls Workspaces “a step to the metaverse,” which Zuck believes is the future of the internet. Instead of something you look at on a screen, the metaverse is an internet you can be inside of. Think: hanging out in VR with your friends' avatars instead of DM'ing, and entering VR stores where you can shop "in person" and online at the same time.

• FB has invested heavily in virtual and augmented reality, laying the foundations for its role in the metaverse. And it's not the only one...
• Roblox, the tween-favorite platform that allows users to build their own games, sees itself as a potential hub for immersive metaverse experiences like concerts and games.
• Microsoft intro'd Microsoft Mesh, a "mixed-reality" service that displays life-size 3D avatars and content through smart glasses.