Meta Changes Strategy: Metaverse Moves to Smartphones

Meta is making a fundamental pivot in realizing its vision of the metaverse. As confirmed by Samantha Ryan, Vice President of Metaverse at Reality Labs, the company's flagship product, the Horizon Worlds platform, will cease to be an integral part of the Quest VR headset operating system. Instead, it will become a separate service available primarily on mobile devices and via web browsers. This means the app will disappear from the main navigation bar of Quest devices, ending the era of its forced integration with VR hardware. This decision represents a clear retreat from the original, aggressively promoted vision of Mark Zuckerberg, who until recently presented the metaverse as the future of social connections, accessible through advanced headsets. Since 2014, when Facebook purchased Oculus VR, and then in 2021 changed its name to Meta, the conglomerate has invested tens of billions of dollars in developing VR and metaverse technology. Zuckerberg's vision was a response to pandemic trends and was meant to represent the next stage after the mobile internet. The new direction is directly aimed at the market dominated by apps like Roblox or Fortnite. Meta admits it wants to compete for the attention of billions of smartphone users, not just a few million VR headset owners. The strategy change is a reaction to the poor reception of Horizon Worlds in the VR environment, which struggled with low active user numbers and criticism regarding the quality of the experience. „This is really exciting because it means we can reach billions of people, regardless of what device they„re on.” (This is really exciting because it means we can reach billions of people, regardless of what device they're on.) — Samantha Ryan

The reorientation of priorities follows a series of failures and cuts in the Reality Labs division. In recent months, Meta laid off 10% of the division's employees and closed three development studios. Shifting the focus to mobile platforms is intended to drastically lower the barrier to entry for the average user, making metaverse-type experiences more accessible. Meta assures that it is not completely abandoning the VR environment for creators, who will still be able to build apps for the Quest platform, but it is clear that the company's investments and attention are shifting towards technologies that people already use daily. 10% — of Reality Labs personnel laid off in recent months Change in Horizon Worlds Distribution Model: Primary Accessibility: Quest VR Headset Ecosystem → Web Browsers and Mobile Apps; Hardware Integration: App Built into the Quest System → Separate, Standalone Service; Target User: VR Headset Owners → All Smartphone/Computer Users prawda: Meta confirmed that Horizon Worlds will disappear from the main interface of Quest headsets and will be available primarily outside of VR. This is a de facto reversal of the original hardware strategy. (Meta Statement) Industry experts assess this move as an attempt to salvage a project that did not meet expectations in its original form. For Meta, this means a course correction, where the company tries to extract value from its massive investments in the metaverse by directing it to where a huge audience already exists: smartphone screens.