Meta Teases AI Generation Of Entire Horizon Worlds Coming "Very Soon"
Meta Horizon Worlds Desktop Editor is getting AI Environment Generation "very soon", teased to let creators generate entire worlds from a text prompt.
Meta's Horizon Worlds Desktop Editor is getting AI Environment Generation "very soon", teased to let creators generate entire worlds from a text prompt.
Meta launched the Worlds Desktop Editor for Windows in early access in February, alongside deprecating the in-VR creation tools of Horizon Worlds. Worlds Desktop Editor offers the ability to import 3D assets, images, and sound files, place them in a 3D landscape, and implement game logic and other functionality using TypeScript, a popular offshoot of JavaScript.
Since that early access launch, creators in the US were able to AI-generate sound effects and ambient audio, as well as AI-generate TypeScript to add functionality. In April Meta significantly expanded Horizon's AI generation capabilities, letting creators in the US, UK, and Canada generate 3D meshes, textures, and skyboxes too.
David Heaney
Now, Meta has launched Worlds Desktop Editor as a standalone download, no longer requiring Meta Quest Link, and made improvements to its AI generation capabilities.
AI generation capabilities are now available in Australia and New Zealand, and Meta says they're coming to the European Union "soon".
TypeScript generation has also been upgraded to use Meta's latest Llama 4 model, and the sound effects and ambient audio generation model has been upgraded to "generate output even faster and with higher sound quality".
Meta also says it's "introducing " the ability to "create voice-only AI-enabled NPCs" as it teased at Connect 2024, but I couldn't find this in the current publicly available build of Worlds Desktop Editor, and the documentation suggests it's only available for second party developers, meaning those directly contracted by Meta.
David Heaney
As Meta teased in May, Worlds Desktop Editor will also get the ability to AI-generate entire worlds.
Called Environment Generation, Meta now says it will launch "very soon", and let creators "build an environment based on several different themes".
"For example, you can create an island environment and add trees, decide what shape you want the island to be, and choose if you want it to be a desert island or tropical. Environment Generation will let you do all this with simple prompts or using granular controls for different parameters. It’s another important step toward our goal of eventually letting you build an entire world from just a few simple prompts."
Meta also shared a 30-second clip teasing the capability. If the shipping tech lives up to the teases, it could bring the barrier to entry for creating interactive social VR worlds lower than ever, and reduce the time needed from hours to minutes.
