Meta Soft-Launches Waddle World AI Pet Journal App in Philippines

Meta has launched Waddle World, an AI-powered virtual pet app, in the Philippines, where Engadget reports "the game first became available in late September." Internally, Meta describes the app as "a daily journal disguised as a pet."

Users hatch an egg, feed and play with the pet to keep it happy, and write or dictate entries that the AI responds to with text and illustrated journal pages. Points for food and toys come from three mini-games: "One mini-game will have you stacking grocery items on top of your pet's head. Another will have you catching falling stars and dodging bombs. The third game will have you spelling words using the jumbled letters on the screen." Consultant Matt Navarra called it "Tamagotchi meets ChatGPT."

Engadget frames the release as part of a broader pattern, writing that "a big part of Meta's AI strategy is to rely on 'uwu' and cuteness as a way to get people to use and train its models and agents." The app sits alongside Meta's existing Muse avatars and the egg-shaped Muse Charm, an AI companion device the company revealed at its Connect event in September.