Meta reveals 47.5% fee on metaverse sales despite protesting Apple's 30% rate

Meta has announced that it will take a 47.5% cut on sales of digital assets on its Horizon Worlds metaverse platform, after previously blasting Apple for taking 30% from its creators.

The artist formerly known as Facebook announced the sale of virtual items in the metaverse on Monday without mentioning fees. Now, as reported by CNBC:

A Meta spokesperson confirmed to CNBC Wednesday that Meta will take an overall cut of up to 47.5% on each transaction. That includes a "hardware platform fee" of 30% for sales made through the Meta Quest Store, where it sells apps and games for its virtual reality headsets. On top of that, Horizon Worlds, will charge a 17.5% fee.

As the report notes, some in the community are said to be absolutely furious with the move:

However, the news is perhaps more noteworthy in the context of Meta's staunch criticism of Apple's 30% App Store fees, which it has previously blasted in direct reference to the creation of its metaverse. From November:

As we build for the metaverse, we're focused on unlocking opportunities for creators to make money from their work. The 30% fees that Apple takes on transactions make it harder to do that, so we're updating our Subscriptions product so now creators can earn more.

Meta's VP of Horizon Vivek Sharma told The Verge "We think it's a pretty competitive rate in the market... We believe in the other platforms being able to have their share."

Apple and Meta have clashed publicly on multiple occasions over Apple's fee on the app Store. Previously lamenting:

"We asked Apple to reduce its 30% App Store tax or allow us to offer Facebook Pay so we could absorb all costs for businesses struggling during COVID-19. Unfortunately, they dismissed both our requests and SMBs will only be paid 70% of their hard-earned revenue."