The metaverse, championed by Meta (formerly Facebook) in 2021, has largely collapsed due to low user adoption, technical limitations, and massive financial losses exceeding $80 billion.
Meta is shutting down its flagship VR platform, Horizon Worlds, in June 2026, marking a major shift toward AI and mobile-first strategies.
The app will be removed from the Quest store on March 31 and discontinued in VR by June 15, continuing only as a mobile service.
Horizon Worlds, launched in 2021, was central to Meta's rebranding from Facebook and its vision of a fully immersive virtual environment.
Despite billions in investment and high-profile partnerships, the platform failed to attract a large user base and struggled with design limitations and weak engagement.
Reality Labs, the division behind the metaverse push, has accumulated nearly$80 billion in losses since 2020, including more than$6 billion in a single quarter.
Recent layoffs affecting around 10 percent of the VR workforce, along with the shutdown of related projects, underscore a broader pullback.
Competition and shifting priorities have accelerated the decline.
Rival platforms such as VRChat maintained stronger communities, while Meta increasingly redirected resources toward AI and hardware, including its Ray-Ban smart glasses.
Although Meta says it remains committed to VR, the closure of Horizon Worlds signals a strategic reset.
The company is repositioning its future around AI-driven products, marking a decisive shift away from its earlier metaverse vision.
