The fast-food chain has been teasing that it will be offering a “deliciously different” metaverse experience.
Late last week, Wendy’s officially announced that it would be opening a virtual reality restaurant in Horizon Worlds, which it is playfully referring to the Wendyverse.
The virtual world was built by a creator community within the metaverse.
As of April 2, Meta Quest 2 users started signing into Horizon Worlds – the expanding Meta metaverse platform – in order to experience a Wendy’s restaurant in VR. There, they are able to shoot hoops using a virtual Baconator and play a string of different types of interactive games.
The current Wendyverse version is made up of two main locations. The first is the Wendyverse Town Square Central. There, users can head behind the counter to work at a restaurant location and serve VR meals to fill avatar orders while donning the latest brand merch. The second is the Wendyverse Partnership Plaza, where users will discover The Buck BiscuitDome. There, they can play basketball or use a virtual t-shirt cannon to shoot exclusive Wendy’s apparel at other players.
The Wendyverse in Horizon Worlds is meant to provide a heavily branded interactive experience.
“For years we’ve been meeting our fans in unexpected ways and places with our unique approach to social media, gaming and engagement,” said The Wendy’s Company Chief Marketing Officer Carl Loredo in a news release. “We’re excited to take this to the next level by launching the Wendyverse in Meta’s Horizon Worlds and bringing a totally new dimension of access to our fans. Truly a first of its kind, the Wendyverse bridges the best of today with tomorrow to show up for our fans across every world – with a Frosty® and fries in hand.”
According to the fast-food company, the VR restaurant and arena are only the beginning of what is intended to be a far bigger Wendyverse. Over time, the company plans to keep experimenting with different forms of virtual reality technology and the presence it holds within the metaverse.
Wendy’s is not the first fast-food chain to announce big plans for making their way into the metaverse via Horizon Worlds. In February, McDonald’s announced its own intentions to open a VR restaurant where customers could head into the universe to place orders for food to be delivered to them in the real world.