Meta AI is evolving again, and it's resurrecting the metaverse

What you need to know

• Meta AI can now be used to create virtual worlds with prompts using Meta Horizon Studio.
• Meta upgraded Horizon Worlds and the Quest's Horizon Home environments with a new Meta Horizon Engine.
• Meta Horizon Engine is said to load 4x faster, allow 5x as many people in one world, and soon feature photorealistic spaces in worlds.

Meta AI has just achieved its next evolution, powering the creation tools behind the next-generation upgrade of the metaverse that powers Meta Quest headsets.

The newly-launched Meta Horizon Studio tool lets anyone easily create worlds with AI-style prompts that you're probably already used to writing. In the example above, someone asked Meta AI to "make a stylized desert terrain," then followed by adding mountains with rocks, surrounding foliage, and, finally, a "desert city" that ties everything together.

While you'll still need to do things in steps like this to create a world, Meta says, "we’re not far off from being able to create compelling 3D content as easily as you can ask Meta AI a question today." In other words, Meta hopes to make AI an integral part of your virtual reality experience.

We're also seeing major changes and upgrades to the Horizon Worlds ecosystem on Meta Quest headsets. The "immersive home" environment that appears when you power on your Meta Quest headset is now linked directly to Horizon Worlds via the Horizon Central environment. You can immediately jump into popular worlds and easily converse with other users, plus pin apps and other windows to the walls in the environment, and even watch 3D content on Instagram.

All of this is powered by the new Meta Horizon Engine, which Meta says has been "built from scratch and optimized to help bring the metaverse to life." Meta says that graphics are not only better than ever, but things load 4x faster, and 5x as many people can be in one world at a time. That'll make social environments feel a lot more social and less like being in a limited game environment.

Horizon Central allowed users wearing Quest headsets to watch Meta Connect 2025 live alongside other players, and it's clear this vision of live events and interconnection is what Meta is pushing as the future of VR social spaces. Meta maintains a list of Horizon Worlds events that includes concerts at Red Rocks, big names like Sabrina Carpenter, late-night comedy shows, and much more.

Meta also notes that photorealistic worlds are launching soon, powered by the company's Hyperscape engine, which you can try on Meta Quest headsets for free right now. Hyperscape Capture also launches in early access today, letting you use your Meta Quest headset to scan your room and turn it into a photorealistic world your friends can visit.

Lastly, Meta is launching Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN on the Horizon TV app, which is already preinstalled on your Meta Quest headset. It's becoming the new center for streaming media, simplifying things by removing the need to install additional apps. It's a bit like a Google TV interface, so it feels immediately familiar and easy to use. Plus, Meta just launched an exclusive 3D clip of Avatar: Fire and Ash on the Horizon TV app, which you should definitely check out if you've got a Quest headset.