In context: It’s common for digital sales platforms like the Google Play Store, the App Store, and Steam to take a 30 percent cut of the revenue generated by third-party app and content sales. Plenty of developers have disagreed with that cut in the past, including Facebook (now Meta). However, Meta has seemingly changed its mind on creator/platform holder revenue sharing… Or at least decided that those complaints don’t apply to its own services.
When Meta begins allowing the broad sale of digital assets in its Horizon Worlds VR experience, it will take a whopping 47.5 percent cut from content creator revenue. This factors in both the Meta Quest Store’s 30 percent cut and a separate 17.5 percent cut from Horizon World itself.
That’s almost a 50 percent slice of the pie for Meta, which is absolutely massive and far beyond what most other content distribution platforms usually charge for their services. Meta, for its part, has said the cut it takes is a “pretty competitive rate in the market.”
We aren’t sure which market Meta is referring to here. None come to mind where only half (roughly) of the revenue ultimately goes to the actual content creator. If our readers know of any such stores, feel free to share them in the comments below.
That said, Horizon Worlds hit 300,000 users last month, so there’s certainly a market to tap into. With such low income potential, though, the question is, will creators even want to? Only time will tell.
It’s worth mentioning that, for now, only a handful of creators can sell stuff in Horizon Worlds as part of a limited pilot test. As such, the exact revenue split numbers might be tweaked based on creator feedback in the months to come. Furthermore, Meta’s cut is only as high as it is because Horizon Worlds isn’t yet available on other platforms.
When it comes to other VR storefronts, Meta’s cut will be replaced by said storefronts’, leaving the company with only the remaining 17.5 percent in Horizon Worlds transaction fees. Of course, this distinction probably won’t matter at all for creators, who will make roughly the same amount either way.
