Does the Metaverse still exist? Has it ever existed? Well, it seems so, but it suggests that next year it will lose some “metagalaxies.” According to rumors, Meta will cut the Metaverse budget in 2026, by 30%, and there will be layoffs. Mark Zuckerberg’s company now only has eyes for AI.
When Facebook changed its name to Meta in 2021, betting everything on a world of virtual and augmented reality called Metaversecaused a shock, because it was a vision that few shared.
A Metaverse focused on social networks and, above all, permanent connection and tracking, as companies do business. A Metaverse that loses 17 billion dollars a year.
Reality Labs, in the spotlight
The Meta company that runs the Metaverse is Reality Labresponsible for developing the Meta Quest virtual reality glasses, the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses and similar, as well as all Metaverse software, including the social network / entry platform Horizon Worlds.
As an isolated product, Meta Quest glasses can be considered a bestseller: they have sold 20 million units. But they generate little money in app sales, and they are practically only used for playing games, or in multimedia experiences. The professional glasses he presented, Quest Pro, predecessors of Apple’s Vision Pro, were an absolute failure.
Horizon Words has not sparked interestand that can be accessed from your mobile.
The reality is that Reality Labs loses $17 billion a year, nearly $70 billion since 2020. And that money is not seen. The Quest 3 was released in 2023, and the Quest 4 has been delayed several times. The platform does not have any relevant application, beyond some games, and its largest project, Horizon Worlds, does not interest anyone.
With these data, the report of Bloombergwhich ensures that Meta will cut Reality Labs’ budget by 30%, and that will mean layoffs.
At the moment, the Metaverse is only in Mark Zuckerberg’s head. And now his mind only thinks about one thing: artificial intelligence.