Meta Abandons VR Metaverse, Focuses on AI & Smartglasses
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Show Notes
Metas Horizon Worlds VR Social Platform to Shut Down, Marking a Shift Towards AI and Mobile Experiences
Meta, formerly Facebook, is discontinuing its virtual reality social platform, Horizon Worlds, on Quest headsets by June 15, 2026, and removing it from the store by March 31, 2026. The mobile version will remain, but without VR features or popular spots. This move signifies a retreat from Mark Zuckerbergs 2021 metaverse vision, as Horizon Worlds only attracted a few hundred thousand monthly active users, far from the billion-user goal.
Reality Labs, Metas VR and metaverse division, has incurred significant losses, totaling $70 billion since 2021, with $24.1 billion in 2022 alone. Cutbacks have included maintenance mode for the Supernatural fitness app, which Meta acquired for $400 million.
Meta is now focusing on artificial intelligence, allocating $115 billion to $135 billion for spending in 2026, primarily on data centers and chips. They are also expanding their Ray-Ban smartglasses, which have sold over two million units by integrating AI into everyday glasses instead of full VR immersion.
Quest creators and fans face a challenging end, as they can no longer build or update VR worlds after June 15, 2026, and community spaces will not migrate to mobile. This shift reflects Metas pursuit of billions on smartphones over niche VR headsets.
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