Meta Platforms is retreating further from the metaverse, scaling back a once-central pillar of Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg's long-term vision in favor of a renewed focus on artificial intelligence.
According to Bloomberg, the company said this week that users of its Quest headsets will lose access to Horizon Worlds beginning June 15. The app, which allows users to create avatars, socialize, and build virtual environments, has been a flagship effort in Meta's push to build an immersive, 3D digital universe.
After that date, users will no longer be able to build, publish, or update virtual worlds, nor access Horizon Worlds through Quest devices. The service will continue to operate only through Meta's mobile app, signaling a retreat from fully immersive virtual reality experiences.
Restructuring Reality Labs
The move follows a broader restructuring inside Reality Labs, the division responsible for Meta's virtual and augmented reality efforts. Earlier this year, the company cut about 1,000 jobs in the unit and shut down several virtual reality game and content studios. In a message to employees at the time, Chief Technology Officer Andrew Bosworth said the company would pivot toward mobile-based experiences rather than headset-driven virtual worlds.
From metaverse to AI
The decision underscores how dramatically Meta's strategy has evolved. Just a few years ago, Zuckerberg was so committed to the metaverse concept that he rebranded Facebook as Meta in 2021 and poured billions of dollars into developing virtual worlds and hardware. Now, according to Chosun Daily, that effort is widely seen by industry analysts as having been scaled back, if not effectively abandoned. Horizon Worlds, once the centerpiece of Meta's metaverse ambitions, is being sidelined as the company redirects resources toward faster-growing areas.
Within Reality Labs, investment is increasingly shifting away from virtual reality gaming and social platforms toward wearable devices aligned with Meta's artificial intelligence strategy. Products such as the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses have become a priority, reflecting a broader industry pivot toward AI-powered consumer hardware.
Skepticism vindicated
The metaverse initiative had long faced skepticism from investors, as well as scrutiny from regulators and child safety advocates. Despite heavy spending, adoption of Horizon Worlds and similar platforms remained limited, raising questions about the commercial viability of fully immersive virtual environments.
Meta's latest move suggests a more pragmatic approach: maintaining elements of its virtual ecosystem on mobile platforms while stepping back from the costly and technically demanding vision of a headset-driven metaverse. In doing so, the company is aligning itself more closely with the current center of gravity in the tech industry — artificial intelligence — even as it leaves behind a vision that once defined its identity.
Article edited by Jerry Chen
