If you open a link to a Horizon World on Instagram or Facebook, it will now launch directly inside that app if you don’t have the Meta Horizon app installed.

On Instagram this can be from a Story or DM, while on Facebook it can be anywhere.

People who have never visited a Horizon World before will go through "a short onboarding flow" before arriving in the world, or otherwise be inside it in seconds.

This is possible because on mobile and web, Horizon Worlds is delivered via cloud streaming. Thus, Meta didn't need to ship an entire game engine inside Instagram and Facebook, and it can run on any device, provided the internet connection is sufficient.

Meta says it has also improved the in-world camera system of Horizon Worlds, with captured gameplay now excluding UI overlays and player voices. Further, footage shared directly to Instagram and Facebook will automatically include a link to the world, letting viewers instantly join in.

The change comes as Meta continues to push hard to try to make Horizon Worlds a popular smartphone gaming platform, competing with Roblox, Rec Room, and app store games, not just a social VR platform.

In his viral leaked "legendary misadventure" memo from November, Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth told staff that "Horizon Worlds on mobile absolutely has to break out for our long term plans to have a chance".

Leveraging Instagram and Facebook as a near-frictionless path to Horizon Worlds thus seems an obvious move for Meta to leverage its strengths towards this goal. Meta's family of apps have almost 4 billion monthly active users, more than even YouTube.

Another advantage Meta is using is its enormous Reality Labs funding war chest.

Across two competitions this year so far, Meta has given creators of mobile-focused Horizon Worlds a total of $2 million.

The first, called the Mobile Genre Showdown, awarded $100,000, $30,000, and $20,000 each respectively in June to the first, second, and third place winners across five genres, as well as $15,000 each to the winners of 15 special categories.

The second, called Elevate Your Mobile World, awarded $100,000, $60,000, and $50,000 this week to the first, second, and third place winners of "Most Satisfying Progression System" and "Most Sharable Moments", as well as $20,000 each to multiple winners of 14 new special categories.

These figures will certainly raise eyebrows among VR development studios that have seen Meta's interest in funding core VR games decline.

Earlier this year, Bosworth declared that "we are still investing massively in VR gaming and don't plan to stop", and Meta's Director of Games Chris Pruett claimed that the company funded over 100 VR & mixed reality titles that shipped in 2024, as well as over 200 currently in "active production". The company recently revealed a Deadpool VR game, in collaboration with Marvel Games, its next blockbuster after Batman: Arkham Shadow.

Still, the company's priorities are clearly shifting, and declining Quest headset sales could see Meta's funding decisions change even further.

But will social media integration and millions of dollars of creator prizes really turn Horizon Worlds into the next Roblox, or will this be the real "legendary misadventure" of Meta?