Meta's metaverse leaves virtual reality

Core Insights - Meta is shifting its focus for Horizon Worlds from the metaverse to a mobile-first approach, explicitly separating it from the Quest VR platform [1][3] - The Reality Labs division has incurred losses of nearly $80 billion since 2020, indicating a significant reevaluation of Meta's VR ambitions [2][7] - Meta has laid off approximately 1,500 employees from Reality Labs, representing about 10% of the division's workforce, and has ceased new content production for the VR fitness app Supernatural [3] Company Strategy - Horizon Worlds, originally launched as a VR platform in 2021, will now prioritize mobile to compete with platforms like Roblox and Fortnite [3] - Meta's VP of content, Samantha Ryan, emphasized the company's capability to deliver synchronous social games at scale, leveraging its vast social network [4] - The company is still committed to developing VR hardware, with a roadmap for future VR headsets tailored to different audience segments [6] Market Focus - Meta's metaverse ambitions are being replaced by a focus on AI, with investments shifting towards AI wearables and the development of proprietary AI models [7] - Sales of Meta's AI glasses have tripled in the past year, marking them as some of the fastest-growing consumer electronics [8]