Meta’s metaverse leaves virtual reality

Source: TechCrunch

Meta shifts Horizon Worlds to mobile

Meta has announced a major update for its immersive virtual world, Horizon Worlds. The update will see the platform move “almost exclusively mobile” and explicitly separate it from the Quest VR platform.

Background

• Since 2020, Meta’s Reality Labs division for VR and smart‑glasses development has lost nearly $80 billion (CNBC).
• In January, the company laid off roughly 1,500 employees—about 10 % of Reality Labs staff—and shut down several VR game studios (TechCrunch, TechCrunch).
• The VR fitness app Supernatural, acquired by Meta in 2023, will move into “maintenance mode” and stop producing new content (TechCrunch).

Horizon Worlds originally launched in 2021 as a VR‑only platform and later expanded to web and mobile (TechCrunch). Meta now says that “to truly change the game and tap into a much larger market, we’re going all‑in on mobile.”

Competitive positioning

By adopting a mobile‑first strategy, Horizon Worlds aims to compete directly with platforms such as Roblox and Fortnite.

“We’re in a strong position to deliver synchronous social games at scale, thanks to our unique ability to connect those games with billions of people on the world’s biggest social networks,” said Samantha Ryan, Reality Labs VP of content. “You saw this strategy start to unfold in 2025, and now, it’s our main focus.” — [Meta blog post]

Ryan also emphasized that Meta remains committed to VR hardware:

“We have a robust roadmap of future VR headsets that will be tailored to different audience segments as the market grows and matures.” — [Meta blog post]

Shift toward AI

Meta’s metaverse ambitions appear to be giving way to AI initiatives. After moving Reality Labs investments away from the metaverse (TechCrunch), the company is focusing on:

• AI wearables and next‑generation smart glasses.
• Development of its own AI models (TechCrunch).

During the latest earnings call, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said:

“It’s hard to imagine a world in several years where most glasses that people wear aren’t AI glasses.” — TechCrunch

He added that sales of Meta’s glasses have tripled in the past year, describing them as “some of the fastest‑growing consumer electronics in history.”