The Meta Avatars graphics overhaul is now live in Horizon Worlds, Home, and Workrooms, and the SDK for third-party apps has been updated too.
The overhaul was first announced with a pre-rendered mockup by Mark Zuckerberg at Meta Connect 2022 two years ago.
All Meta users are now offered to upgrade their avatar when navigating to edit it in the Meta Horizon phone app, or in Horizon OS on a Quest headset. After doing so, you’ll see your new avatar appearance in the Horizon Home space, Horizon Worlds, and Horizon Workrooms.
An updated version of Meta Avatars SDK for third-party Unity apps with the upgraded avatars is also available for developers. Major apps that currently use Meta Avatars SDK include GOLF+, Eleven Table Tennis, and Drop Dead: The Cabin.
Apps like these will have until March 30 to update to the new SDK version, after which the old Meta Avatars will no longer load, leaving a blank grey placeholder avatar instead.
The Meta Avatars SDK still isn’t available for other engines such as Unreal or Godot, though, and nor is a native SDK for custom engines.
Some time next year, Meta says it will allow users to generate a new outfit for their avatar by typing, leveraging generative AI. In at least Horizon Worlds, Meta says it will also support “fantastical avatars”, non-human forms which users can unlock in specific worlds.
