• Meta announced today that it will divorce its Horizon Worlds social and gaming service-once promoted as the company’s first major step into the metaverse-from its Quest VR headset platform and digital store. • The company says it is now “shifting the focus of Worlds to be almost exclusively mobile.” Theannouncementis also filled with statements like “we’re doubling down on the VR developer ecosystem” that are attempting to head off any suggestion that Meta is retreating from the mixed reality space. • This is far from the first signal that big changes are happening with Meta’s mixed reality strategy. • CNBCreportedthat Meta has lost $80 billion on investments in Reality Labs, the company’s mixed reality division. • More than 1,000 Reality Labs employees werelaid offin January, but don’t misread that as a total closure; more than 15,000 people were working in that part of the organization before the layoffs. • It’s also important to note that those layoffs reportedlydid not affectmany people working on augmented reality, the category Meta is exploring for future smart glasses.
Article Summaries:
- Meta has announced that its Horizon Worlds social‑gaming platform will be separated from the Quest VR headset and its digital store, shifting the service’s focus almost entirely to mobile. The company emphasized it is “doubling down on the VR developer ecosystem” to counter perceptions of retreat from mixed reality. The move follows earlier signals of a broader strategy shift: Reality Labs has reportedly lost $80 billion, and over 1,000 employees were laid off in January, though the division remains active with roughly 15,000 staff. Layoffs mainly targeted internal VR studios, leaving augmented‑reality teams largely intact.
Sources: