At its Connect 2024 conference, Meta announced that it will overhaul its avatar system from October 1. Meta also plans to introduce GenAI capabilities for avatar creation in 2025, allowing users to generate avatars based on text prompts and engage in AI-powered NPC conversations.

The upgraded avatars will offer users more customization options, including fine-tuning eye size, nose shape, and body shape, and introducing fantastical avatars (animals and monsters). The improvements are made possible by a new underlying tech stack that includes an updated avatar skeleton. The new avatar system will be available across Meta Horizon OS, Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger platforms.

Analyst QuickTake: Meta has been steadily improving its metaverse avatar system following criticism of its low immersion. This includes the launch of avatar legs for Horizon Worlds in September 2023 and its “Avatars Grow Legs” (AGroL) avatar system announced by its research team in April 2023 , which predicts full-body movements using sparse upper-body motion data.