Meta Reverses Decision to End Horizon Worlds VR Support
Meta has abruptly reversed its plan to discontinue virtual reality support for its social metaverse platform, Horizon Worlds. The company confirmed it will maintain the application on Quest headsets, backtracking on a recent announcement that would have restricted the service to web and mobile platforms starting June 15.
The decision was made public by Meta’s CTO, Andrew Bosworth, during an Instagram Stories Q&A session. Responding to a user who expressed disappointment over the initial move, Bosworth stated, “We have decided, just today in fact, that we will keep Horizon Worlds working in VR.” A company spokesperson later verified the change in strategy to reporters.
The Strategic Shift to Mobile
Despite the reprieve for VR users, Meta remains heavily focused on the mobile iteration of the platform. Bosworth previously noted in a podcast with journalist Alex Heath that the mobile version of Horizon Worlds has demonstrated a stronger product-market fit.
“There’s a much bigger audience in mobile, and it’s having a really positive pickup on mobile,” Bosworth explained. He highlighted the operational inefficiencies of maintaining two separate builds, noting that teams were forced to build everything twice—once for mobile and once for VR—and that prioritizing mobile would significantly increase development velocity.
Market Challenges and Reality Labs
The reversal comes amid a difficult period for Meta’s Reality Labs division, which has incurred $73 billion in losses since the company’s 2021 rebranding. Broader market data underscores the struggle to make virtual reality a mainstream staple:
- Quest headset sales saw a 16% year-over-year decline between 2024 and 2025.
- Mobile intelligence firm Appfigures reports 45 million total lifetime downloads for the Horizon Worlds mobile app.
- Total consumer spending on the mobile app sits at approximately $1.1 million, a small fraction compared to the capital poured into the metaverse division.
Meta has already taken steps to manage these costs, including laying off over 1,500 employees in January and closing several internal game studios. Industry speculation suggests that further workforce reductions, potentially affecting up to 20% of the company, may be under consideration as the firm evaluates the viability of its long-term hardware bets.