Meta is shifting Horizon Worlds to be mobile-first and separating Quest VR from the virtual world
Reality Labs has lost nearly $80 billion since 2020
Meta laid off 1,500 employees from Reality Labs and shut down several VR game studios
Meta is now focusing on AI wearables instead of the metaverse
Meta's glasses sales tripled in the last year
📖 Full Retelling
Meta announced a major strategic shift for its immersive virtual world, Horizon Worlds, on Thursday, revealing that the platform will become 'almost exclusively mobile' and that its Quest VR platform will be separated from the virtual world, as the tech giant attempts to recover from nearly $80 billion in losses since 2020 in its Reality Labs division. The move represents a significant retreat from Mark Zuckerberg's ambitious metaverse vision, with Meta explicitly acknowledging the need to 'truly change the game and tap into a much larger market' by going mobile-first. This strategic pivot comes amid substantial restructuring within Meta's Reality Labs division, which reportedly laid off roughly 1,500 employees last month—about 10% of the unit's staff—and shut down several VR game studios. The VR fitness app Supernatural, acquired by Meta in 2023, will also cease producing new content and transition to 'maintenance mode.'
Horizon Worlds, which originally launched in 2021 as a VR platform before expanding to web and mobile, is now positioning itself to compete with popular platforms like Roblox and Fortnite. According to Samantha Ryan, Reality Labs' VP of content, Meta's unique advantage lies in its ability to connect games with billions of users across its social networks. 'We're in a strong position to deliver synchronous social games at scale,' Ryan stated, noting that this mobile-first strategy began unfolding in 2025 and is now the company's main focus. Despite the shift away from the metaverse, Meta maintains it still has a 'robust roadmap of future VR headsets' tailored to different audience segments as the market evolves.
Meta's metaverse ambitions have effectively been abandoned in favor of AI development, with the company redirecting Reality Labs investments toward AI wearables and advanced AI models. During Meta's latest earnings call, CEO Mark Zuckerberg emphasized the growing importance of AI glasses, stating, 'It's hard to imagine a world in several years where most glasses that people wear aren't AI glasses.' The executive highlighted that sales of Meta's glasses tripled within the last year, describing them as 'some of the fastest growing consumer electronics in history.' This strategic realignment reflects broader industry trends as tech companies reassess their investments in virtual reality and the metaverse amid economic pressures and changing consumer preferences.
Virtual reality platform developed by Meta Platforms
Meta Horizon Worlds is an online multi-player virtual reality game developed and published by Meta Platforms. Users can build and publish environments and games on the platform. Horizon Worlds was released on December 2021, and works on Oculus Rift S, Meta Quest 2, Meta Quest Pro and Meta Quest 3 he...
Virtual reality (VR) is a simulated experience that employs 3D head-mounted displays and pose tracking to give the user an immersive feel of a virtual world. Applications of virtual reality include entertainment (particularly video games), education (such as medical, safety, or military training), r...
# Artificial Intelligence (AI)
**Artificial Intelligence (AI)** is a specialized field of computer science dedicated to the development and study of computational systems capable of performing tasks typically associated with human intelligence. These tasks include learning, reasoning, problem-solvi...
A metaverse is a virtual world in which users interact while represented by avatars, typically in a 3D display, with the experience focused on social and economic connection.
The term metaverse originated in the 1992 science fiction novel Snow Crash as a portmanteau of "meta" and "universe". In Sno...
Meta has announced a major update for its immersive virtual world, Horizon Worlds, on Thursday that will see it leave the metaverse behind. The tech giant said it’s shifting focus for Horizons Worlds to be “almost exclusively mobile” and that it’s “explicitly separating” its Quest VR platform from the virtual world. Meta’s Reality Labs division for VR and smart glasses development has lost nearly $80 billion since 2020. The update to Horizon Worlds, and other recent moves, signal that Meta is significantly rethinking its VR ambitions. Last month, the company reportedly laid off roughly 1,500 employees from its Reality Labs division — about 10% of the unit’s staff — and shut down several VR game studios. Additionally, it was reported that the VR fitness app Supernatural, which Meta acquired in 2023, will no longer produce new content and will move into “maintenance mode.” Horizon Worlds originally launched in 2021 as a VR platform and later rolled out to the web and mobile. Meta said Thursday that to “truly change the game and tap into a much larger market, we’re going all-in on mobile.” By going mobile-first, Horizon Worlds is positioning itself to compete with popular platforms like 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,” Samantha Ryan, Reality Labs’ VP of content, said in a blog post. “You saw this strategy start to unfold in 2025, and now, it’s our main focus.” Ryan went on to note that Meta is still focused on VR hardware. Techcrunch event Save up to $300 or 30% to TechCrunch Founder Summit 1,000+ founders and investors come together at TechCrunch Founder Summit 2026 for a full day focused on growth, execution, and real-world scaling. Learn from founders and investors who have shaped the industry. Connect with peers navigating similar growth stages. Walk away with tactics you can apply immedia...
