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Meta's Metaverse App for VR Is Staying Open, Barely
Meta will maintain Horizon Worlds VR on Quest headsets despite low spending and user numbers, while prioritizing mobile app growth with 45 million downloads, a mobile intelligence firm said.
- On Wednesday, Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth announced via an Instagram AMA, "We have decided, just today in fact, that we will keep Horizon Worlds working in VR for existing games to support the fans who've reached out," reversing the shutdown plan.
- Following earlier signals this year, Meta moved to end Horizon Worlds support on Quest virtual-reality headsets and announced it would shut down the VR version on June 15.
- Financial and staffing figures indicate Reality Labs lost $73 billion since 2021, with over 1,500 employees impacted, while Appfigures reports 45 million downloads and $1.1 million consumer spending.
- Meta confirmed it will not add new VR Horizon Worlds games and Bosworth said, 'Most of our energy is going towards mobile and the Meta Horizon Engine there,' while a Meta spokesperson said some VR features remain.
- Uncertainty remains about how long support will continue, as Meta says Horizon Worlds users cannot create new spaces but existing user-created worlds and some VR content remain accessible, while the platform's unspecified timeline leaves its long-term future unclear.
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Total News Sources17
Leaning Left3Leaning Right0Center7Last UpdatedBias Distribution70% Center
Bias Distribution
- 70% of the sources are Center
70% Center
L 30%
C 70%
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