Meta Platforms will shut down the virtual reality version of its Horizon Worlds metaverse in June, shifting its focus to a mobile-only experience as it scales back the ambitious metaverse strategy it promoted just five years ago.
Starting June 15, users will no longer be able to create, publish, or update VR worlds, nor access Horizon Worlds through Meta Quest headsets, the company said in a blog post on Tuesday.
Launched in late 2021, Horizon Worlds began as a VR-exclusive multiplayer platform that allowed users to build and share virtual environments and games, while interacting with others through avatars.
Meta had already begun testing Horizon Worlds as a mobile platform in 2025, according to Reality Labs content VP Samantha Ryan, who said in February that the company was “shifting the focus of Worlds to be almost exclusively mobile.”
Competitors like Fortnite and Roblox — with roughly 1.3 million and 144 million daily active users, respectively — already operate across PC, console, and mobile. While Fortnite has never officially launched a VR version, Roblox introduced a VR app in July 2023, though not all of its experiences support virtual reality.
Meta’s pivot comes just five years after CEO Mark Zuckerberg steered the company toward the metaverse, even rebranding from Facebook to Meta. However, those ambitions have yet to translate into meaningful profits.
Reality Labs racks up massive losses
Meta’s Reality Labs division posted a record $6 billion loss in Q4 2025, bringing total losses for its metaverse unit to nearly $80 billion since 2020.
In January, the company cut around 1,000 jobs within Reality Labs and shut down several VR game and content studios. At the time, CTO Andrew Bosworth said the company would prioritize mobile experiences over fully immersive, headset-based virtual worlds.
Meanwhile, Meta’s stock rose 3% on Monday following a Reuters report suggesting the company could be planning large-scale layoffs affecting up to 20% of its workforce — potentially to offset spending on AI infrastructure and augmented reality wearables. A Meta spokesperson later described the report to CNBC as “speculative” and based on “theoretical approaches.”
The potential cuts align with a broader trend across the tech industry, where companies are reducing headcount to reallocate resources toward artificial intelligence.
Metaverse tokens lose momentum
The blockchain-based metaverse, once a major narrative in the crypto space in 2021, has largely faded as attention shifted toward AI.
Leading projects such as Axie Infinity (AXS), The Sandbox (SAND), and Decentraland (MANA) have seen their tokens plunge between 98% and 99% from their all-time highs in November 2021, according to CoinGecko.
