Meta is phasing out virtual reality support for its flagship metaverse service, Horizon Worlds. The company frames this move as an effort to enhance discovery for third-party developers.
This pivot aligns with Meta's broader strategy, emphasizing a third-party developer ecosystem over in-house VR content creation. Data suggests a significant portion of VR headset usage involves third-party applications.
Meta Reality Labs VP of Content, Samantha Ryan, stated the company will continue supporting its developer community through partnerships and investments.
The launch of a Horizon Worlds mobile app last year attracted a substantial user base interested in its social gaming features, independent of VR. This success appears to be driving the service's focus onto the mobile platform and its audience.
Meta intends to continue designing, manufacturing, and selling VR hardware, along with maintaining storefronts for third-party developers. However, in-house content production is being significantly reduced, and the grand vision of a fully immersive metaverse is less emphasized.
Instead, Meta's investment focus has shifted towards smart glasses, AI models, and related technologies.