Meta Looks to a Free-to-Play Model Amid Surge of New Quest Users

Meta’s ambitions for the metaverse are taking shape quickly, with younger audiences and everyday users playing crucial roles in reshaping the Quest platform throughout 2024. This transition might pave the way for the rise of free-to-play content, according to Samantha Ryan, the VP of Metaverse Content.

In a recent blog post aimed at developers, Ryan shed light on significant changes in user behavior that emerged over the past year, sparked by a surge in newcomers to the Quest ecosystem.

“Compared to the previous year, we saw a spike in device sales in 2024, with users spending more time on Quest 3S devices than any other headset during launch,” Ryan explained. “Spending across Quest devices also surged, with a 12% increase in total payment volume for 2024, largely due to a boom in in-app purchases.”

Free-to-play games heavily lean on these in-app purchases. A prime example is Another Axiom’s hit VR game, Gorilla Tag (2022), which crossed the $100 million mark in gross revenue last summer, fueled mainly by in-game cosmetic sales.

“We’re crafting a platform that prioritizes social interaction, and these younger users are frequently engaging with friends in multiplayer settings and social apps,” Ryan continued. “They’re steering the rise of free-to-play games, a trend widely seen on other platforms. We’ve also noticed an increase in younger participants in Horizon Worlds.”

Meta’s CTO, Andrew Bosworth, underscored the importance of their cross-compatible social platform. In a recently leaked memo, he stressed that the mobile version of Horizon Worlds is essential for their long-term plans to succeed.

“We anticipate free-to-play (F2P) games becoming a common strategy for developers, who have mainly depended on premium apps until now. However, we don’t see F2P replacing premium apps entirely—both models seem poised to coexist,” noted Ryan.

Nevertheless, VR enthusiasts, who demand top-tier premium content, “remain the backbone of this expanding ecosystem,” with current Quest owners sparking “a wave of device sales by upgrading from older models, representing 27% of Quest 3 and 20% of Quest 3S users this year.”

Ryan also highlighted that the majority of new Quest users in 2024 aren’t enthusiasts upgrading their devices but are entirely new to the Quest platform. “The typical traits of VR enthusiasts no longer define our entire user base,” she said.

Regarding traditional media and entertainment, Ryan revealed that 2D apps and browsers haven’t typically seen high engagement on Quest devices, despite a gradual rise over the past few years.

“2D app usage has been on the rise since the launch of Quest 3. We’ve been enhancing our operating system with features like multitasking, theater mode, and immersive audio to cater to this growing group of users.” Ryan pointed out that in 2024, Quest experienced a 10% increase in per-user monthly time spent in media apps, alongside a 21% rise in usage of the headset’s default Internet browser.

Meta’s recent trends point to a critical juncture for Quest, as the company strives to meet the premium content expectations of early adopters while free-to-play, social-based content increasingly influences revenue goals. The uncertainty remains on how heavily Meta will lean on in-app spending to support its developer ecosystem—potentially leading to a focus on maximizing engagement. However, one thing is clear: Meta’s challenge lies in managing this growth without sidelining any part of its diverse user community.