Meta has performed an abrupt U-turn on its plan to shutter Horizon Worlds for VR headsets on March 31, following a firestorm of user complaints. The company will keep existing VR games accessible but made it clear: no new VR content is coming to the platform, as the entire division pivots to mobile.
CTO Andrew Bosworth confirmed the reversal during an Instagram AMA: “We have decided, just today in fact, we will keep Horizon Worlds working in VR for existing games.” Yet he stressed that no more VR games are planned for the Horizon platform, with the team now prioritizing mobile development first.
The shift aligns with Reality Labs VP Samantha Ryan's February statement that Worlds is going “all in on mobile,” citing positive momentum there. But the mobile version has historically suffered from bugs and missing features, drawing criticism from VR power users.
Reality Labs Bleeds $80 Billion, No Profit in Sight
The strategic retreat is driven by brutal finances. Reality Labs has racked up over $80 billion in cumulative operating losses since its 2020 inception, failing to achieve profitability in more than five years. Bosworth admitted the industry “has not grown as quickly as we hoped.” In January, Meta laid off roughly 1,500 employees, with the bulk coming from Reality Labs' VR game development teams.
Meta is not alone: many tech giants poured billions into the metaverse trend with little to show. Industry observers point to low VR hardware adoption and fragmented content ecosystems as primary hurdles. Meta's mobile-first pivot essentially abandons the “VR-first” mantra, aiming instead to reach users through smartphones and tablets.
Horizon Worlds mobile has seen short-term growth in select markets, but long-term retention remains unproven. Meta has not disclosed daily active user numbers for the mobile version.
For VR developers, the announcement is a gut punch. Numerous third-party studios built games and experiences around Horizon Worlds, counting on new VR projects. With no future VR orders from Meta, those teams must pivot immediately. Several developers have expressed frustration on social media.
Analysts view the mobile-first shift as an implicit admission that Meta's $10 billion Oculus acquisition hasn't paid off as expected. While VR hardware may continue to receive updates, the software ecosystem's center of gravity has moved decisively to mobile.