Meta has announced that it will shut down the virtual reality version of its social platform, Horizon Worlds, marking another step away from its earlier metaverse ambitions.
The company confirmed that Horizon Worlds will be removed from its VR platform for Quest headsets by June 15, 2026. Before that, the app will no longer be available for download from the Quest store after March. However, the platform will continue to exist as a standalone mobile app.
According to Meta, this decision is part of a broader strategy to separate its platforms and focus on growth more effectively. By shifting Horizon Worlds to a mobile-only experience, the company aims to streamline development and reach a wider audience without relying on VR hardware.
Horizon Worlds was once a key part of Meta’s vision for the metaverse. When the company rebranded from Facebook in 2021, CEO Mark Zuckerberg described the metaverse as the future of digital interaction. The platform allowed users to create avatars, explore virtual environments, and interact with others in a 3D social space.
Despite the ambitious vision, Horizon Worlds struggled to gain widespread adoption. Reports suggested that the platform had only a few hundred thousand active users per month, far below expectations.
The move also follows recent changes within Meta’s Reality Labs division, which oversees virtual reality and metaverse projects. The company reportedly reduced over 1,000 jobs in this unit earlier this year, including teams working on VR content.
Additionally, Reality Labs has been facing significant financial losses. In its latest earnings report, the division recorded billions of dollars in operating losses, highlighting the challenges of building and maintaining large-scale virtual reality platforms.
Meta has now shifted its priorities toward artificial intelligence, which is becoming a central focus across the tech industry. The company is investing heavily in AI development, while scaling back its earlier emphasis on the metaverse.
Going forward, Meta plans to continue supporting VR development but with a stronger focus on developers and content creation, while Horizon Worlds evolves as a mobile-first platform.
This shift reflects a broader trend in the tech world, where companies are realigning their strategies to focus on technologies with higher adoption and growth potential.
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