CASE STUDY
Meta Horizon Worlds
ROLE
Product Design Lead
TIMELINE
2023 - 2025
PLATFORMS
AR/VR (Meta Quest), Web (Desktop, Mobile)
XFN TEAM
1–6x Product Designers 3x Game Designers Prototyper Sound Designer Content Designer UI Artist Art Director Art Manager 3–5x Software Engineers Software Engineering Manager QA Engineer Data Scientist Product Manager Design Program Manager Product Design Manager Product Design Director VP of Product
01
SNAPSHOT
01
SNAPSHOT
01
SNAPSHOT
CASE STUDY
Meta Horizon Worlds
ROLE
Product Design Lead
TIMELINE
2023 - 2025
PLATFORMS
AR/VR (Meta Quest), Web (Desktop, Mobile)
XFN TEAM
1–6x Product Designers 3x Game Designers 1x Prototyper 1x Sound Designer 1x Content Designer 1x UI Artist 1x Art Director 1x Art Manager 3–5x Software Engineers 1x Software Engineering Manager 1x QA Engineer 1x Data Scientist 1x Product Manager 1x Design Program Manager 1x Product Design Manager 1x Product Design Director 1x VP of Product
Meta Horizon Worlds
I designed the systems that give players a reason to return, and creators a way to get paid.
THE CHALLENGE
Horizon Worlds launched without a Core Loop. Players had no reason to return, and creators had no consistent way to sell what they built.
WHAT I DID
I led design on the Core Loop, from Quests and Inventory to the Avatar Identity Panel, and took on a hybrid PM-Designer role to define an in-world monetization strategy.
THE OUTCOME
Engaged players stayed 14 minutes longer per session, time on platform grew 2.5%, and avatar engagement rose 5% platform-wide.
THE CHALLENGE
Horizon Worlds launched without a Core Loop. Players had no reason to return, and creators had no consistent way to sell what they built.
WHAT I DID
I led design on the Core Loop, from Quests and Inventory to the Avatar Identity Panel, and took on a hybrid PM-Designer role to define an in-world monetization strategy.
THE OUTCOME
Engaged players stayed 14 minutes longer per session, time on platform grew 2.5%, and avatar engagement rose 5% platform-wide.
02
THE PROBLEM
02
THE PROBLEM
Horizon Worlds launched before it was ready. Players had no reason to return, and creators had no consistent way to sell what they built.
Horizon Worlds launched before it was ready. Players had no reason to return, and creators had no consistent way to sell what they built.
Two audiences
Nothing to do next, nowhere to sell
Players landed in a flat menu with no clear next step. Without a Core Loop, there was nothing pulling them back.
Developers each sold in-world content their own way, with no shared standards for payments or distribution.
Two audiences
Nothing to do next, nowhere to sell
Players landed in a flat menu with no clear next step. Without a Core Loop, there was nothing pulling them back.
Developers each sold in-world content their own way, with no shared standards for payments or distribution.
PLAYERS
DEVELOPERS
PLAYERS
DEVELOPERS
03
WHAT SUCCESS MEANT
03
WHAT SUCCESS MEANT
Goals
One goal for each audience
For the business, grow time spent on the platform by 2.5% over the first half of 2024.
For players, a reason to come back again and again with friends.
For developers, shared standards for selling, buying and managing digital goods.
Goals
One goal for each audience
For the business, grow time spent on the platform by 2.5% over the first half of 2024.
For players, a reason to come back again and again with friends.
For developers, shared standards for selling, buying and managing digital goods.
04
CONSTRAINTS & TRADE-OFFS
04
CONSTRAINTS & TRADE-OFFS
Constraints
Limited hardware, gaps in headcount
Economy work had no dedicated Product Manager. I took on product management, set the roadmap and recruited engineers and PMs from neighboring teams to build Storefronts and Inventory.
Constraints
Limited hardware, gaps in headcount
Economy work had no dedicated Product Manager. I took on product management, set the roadmap and recruited engineers and PMs from neighboring teams to build Storefronts and Inventory.
limited visual quality
2d menus in 3d space
limited visual quality
2d menus in 3d space
05
APPROACH
05
APPROACH
The plan
Earn attention before asking for money
Nobody spends real money in a world they don't return to. So we sequenced the work: increase engagement with rewards, sustain it with progression, then monetize.
The plan
Earn attention before asking for money
Nobody spends real money in a world they don't return to. So we sequenced the work: increase engagement with rewards, sustain it with progression, then monetize.
cosmetic avatar rewards
themed seasonal quests
cosmetic avatar rewards
themed seasonal quests
Identity Panel
Helping players bond with their avatars
The hook was identity. Borrowing from game patterns like paper-doll and emote pickers, I put a player's appearance front and center.
React VR forced flat panels into 3D space, so I prototyped live avatar mirroring with internal motion capture. Seeing your avatar move with you made the panel feel personal.
Identity Panel
Helping players bond with their avatars
The hook was identity. Borrowing from game patterns like paper-doll and emote pickers, I put a player's appearance front and center.
React VR forced flat panels into 3D space, so I prototyped live avatar mirroring with internal motion capture. Seeing your avatar move with you made the panel feel personal.
The Identity Panel, from legacy to final spec.
The Identity Panel, from legacy to final spec.
Live avatar mirroring, prototyped with internal motion capture.
Live avatar mirroring, prototyped with internal motion capture.
Validating the Identity Panel and live avatar preview in headset.
Validating the Identity Panel and live avatar preview in headset.
The Identity Panel lifted Meta Avatars engagement by 5% across the Horizon platform.
The Identity Panel lifted Meta Avatars engagement by 5% across the Horizon platform.
Fantastical Avatars and digital currencies later launched on top of the Identity Panel.
Fantastical Avatars and digital currencies later launched on top of the Identity Panel.
Limited-time quests
A reason to come back every season
I conceived, designed and prototyped the Limited Time Quests panel, and every limited-time event plugged into it: live concerts, co-branded worlds with UFC and the NBA, and celebrity avatar skins.
With game designers, I tuned how many quests unlock a reward. Few enough not to deter casual players, enough to keep engaged players returning all season.
Limited-time quests
A reason to come back every season
I conceived, designed and prototyped the Limited Time Quests panel, and every limited-time event plugged into it: live concerts, co-branded worlds with UFC and the NBA, and celebrity avatar skins.
With game designers, I tuned how many quests unlock a reward. Few enough not to deter casual players, enough to keep engaged players returning all season.
Testing in headset before the first season launched.
Testing in headset before the first season launched.
Reward claim
The payoff at the top of the loop
Finishing a quest had to feel like a win, with the reward landing in the player's inventory.
Getting it right meant working hands-on across disciplines. I sketched with the art team, tuned animation curves in code with engineers, guided sound design and tested daily with QA.
Reward claim
The payoff at the top of the loop
Finishing a quest had to feel like a win, with the reward landing in the player's inventory.
Getting it right meant working hands-on across disciplines. I sketched with the art team, tuned animation curves in code with engineers, guided sound design and tested daily with QA.
Inventory
Shipping with a known gap
OS-level dependencies forced players through a duplicate flow to change their appearance. Rather than block the release, I shipped, escalated the issue to senior leadership and used it to push for deeper fixes.
That started follow-up work aligned with future headset OS releases, including an early vision for a universal inventory.
Inventory
Shipping with a known gap
OS-level dependencies forced players through a duplicate flow to change their appearance. Rather than block the release, I shipped, escalated the issue to senior leadership and used it to push for deeper fixes.
That started follow-up work aligned with future headset OS releases, including an early vision for a universal inventory.
Compromise: switching between the in-app inventory and OS inventory.
Compromise: switching between the in-app inventory and OS inventory.
An early exploration of a universal inventory.
An early exploration of a universal inventory.
The Core Loop's biggest effect was on how long players stayed.
The Core Loop's biggest effect was on how long players stayed.
In-world monetization
One standard for selling digital goods
Developers were already selling content in their worlds, each with a currency Meta didn't back. Players were confused and hesitant to spend.
I led design on the Digital Goods and Builders team and ran a sprint with six designers across three teams. The result was a strategy for selling content on Meta's stack and its official currency, Meta Credits. Our mockups convinced leadership to fund the infrastructure.
In-world monetization
One standard for selling digital goods
Developers were already selling content in their worlds, each with a currency Meta didn't back. Players were confused and hesitant to spend.
I led design on the Digital Goods and Builders team and ran a sprint with six designers across three teams. The result was a strategy for selling content on Meta's stack and its official currency, Meta Credits. Our mockups convinced leadership to fund the infrastructure.
Meta announced in-world selling for developers at Meta Connect.
Meta announced in-world selling for developers at Meta Connect.
Interactive in-world signage with clear affordances.
An inventory API to standardize product details platform-wide.
Integration with AI NPCs for rich interactions.
Drop-in modules for developers to leverage Meta's tech stack.
Interactive in-world signage with clear affordances.
An inventory API to standardize product details platform-wide.
Integration with AI NPCs for rich interactions.
Drop-in modules for developers to leverage Meta's tech stack.
06
COLLABORATION MAP
06
COLLABORATION MAP
My role
Staying visible across dozens of teams
I was one of two product designers on the Core Loop team, and I also took on a hybrid PM and design role leading in-world monetization.
The Core Loop team was one of dozens of teams building Horizon Worlds, so influence across the org mattered as much as the design work itself.
My role
Staying visible across dozens of teams
I was one of two product designers on the Core Loop team, and I also took on a hybrid PM and design role leading in-world monetization.
The Core Loop team was one of dozens of teams building Horizon Worlds, so influence across the org mattered as much as the design work itself.
YOUTH EXPERIENCES
social features for teens
PRIVACY + INTEGRITY
social visibility and safety measures
avatars
meta avatars, fantastical avatars
virtual reality operating system
all headset os features
Core Loop + digital goods & builders
player engagement, retention, and in-world monetization
product foundations
horizon design system ownership
identity
cross-meta user profile
DESIGN LEADERSHIP
product vision, roadmap ownership
meta quest store
digital games storefront
YOUTH EXPERIENCES
social features for teens
PRIVACY + INTEGRITY
social visibility and safety measures
avatars
meta avatars, fantastical avatars
virtual reality operating system
all headset os features
Core Loop + digital goods & builders
player engagement, retention, and in-world monetization
product foundations
horizon design system ownership
identity
cross-meta user profile
DESIGN LEADERSHIP
product vision, roadmap ownership
meta quest store
digital games storefront
PARTNER TEAMS
07
DESIGN SYSTEM / PATTERNS
07
DESIGN SYSTEM / PATTERNS
Patterns
Built once, used by every team
The Identity Panel and Quests became components in the Horizon Design System, and any developer could use Quests to add challenges and rewards to their world.
With the other Core Loop designer, we created AIR (Awareness, Investment, Reward), a simple framework for explaining the loop. I owned Awareness and Reward and advised other teams on both.
Patterns
Built once, used by every team
The Identity Panel and Quests became components in the Horizon Design System, and any developer could use Quests to add challenges and rewards to their world.
With the other Core Loop designer, we created AIR (Awareness, Investment, Reward), a simple framework for explaining the loop. I owned Awareness and Reward and advised other teams on both.
The AIR framework: Awareness, Investment, Reward.
The AIR framework: Awareness, Investment, Reward.
09
IMPACT
09
IMPACT
Players stayed longer, came back more often, and engaged more with their avatars across Meta.
Players stayed longer, came back more often, and engaged more with their avatars across Meta.
In-world monetization strategy
Established a vision and roadmap for how digital goods are sold and managed in the Metaverse using Meta’s tech stack and currency (Meta Credits).
Inventory API
Started platform integration work so developers could bring their custom content onto the Meta platform and make it visible everywhere.
In-world monetization strategy
Established a vision and roadmap for how digital goods are sold and managed in the Metaverse using Meta’s tech stack and currency (Meta Credits).
Inventory API
Started platform integration work so developers could bring their custom content onto the Meta platform and make it visible everywhere.
Building a game, platform, or economy?
Building a game, platform, or economy?
END OF CASE FILE