Meta’s avatar legs roll out to VR beta testers, but only in Quest Home for now

Meta communications manager Eliza Kern told The Verge in an email that “people will start to see avatar legs appear” in the VR version of Horizon Worlds “over the next few weeks.” (It wasn’t clear if Kern was referring to the beta program or if players of the full release can expect to see the change soon too, so we’ve asked and will update here as soon as possible.)

Community manager Ryanality posted in the forums that the “Public Test Channel (PTC) for Quest v57 is starting to roll out for Meta Quest Pro and Meta Quest 2 soon,” though without specifying any new features. Then, yesterday, a forum user named TomCgcmfc reported their avatar had legs.

Users in the Meta Community forum also reported updated menus that allow hand tracking to position and use them (rather than needing direct manipulation). On Reddit, one user claimed to see improvements to both hand tracking and auto-switching between controllers and hands. NyaVR on X posted that they found code references to new settings, including an extended battery mode (via Mixed Reality News).

It’s been more than 10 months since Meta announced legs would be coming, with Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg saying at Meta Connect that legs are “probably the most requested feature.” Zuckerberg said then that the company would need to use an AI model for leg movement because tracking them with the headset’s cameras is tricky. Tricky enough, apparently, that the legs shown in the Connect keynote last year may have actually been prerecorded motion capture.

Update August 30th, 2023 8:49AM ET: Added confirmation from Meta communications manager Eliza Kern that the company is adding legs to player avatars in Horizon Worlds, as well, over the next few weeks.