Meta shuts down Horizon Worlds VR app as metaverse push fades

Meta

• Meta will remove Horizon Worlds from Quest VR headsets by June 15
• Horizon Worlds will continue as a mobile-only app after removal
• Meta shifts focus from metaverse to AI amid Reality Labs losses

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Meta is quietly drawing a line under one of its most ambitious bets. The company has announced that Horizon Worlds will be removed from Quest VR headsets, marking a significant shift away from the metaverse-first vision it once championed.

Meta says Horizon Worlds will be pulled from the Quest Store by the end of March, with full removal from VR set for June 15. After that, the platform won’t disappear entirely—but it will exist only as a mobile app.

The company says this split will allow both experiences to evolve independently, with Horizon Worlds now repositioned as a mobile-first product.

From centrepiece to side project

This is a notable comedown for what was once central to Meta’s strategy. Back in 2021, when Facebook rebranded itself as Meta, CEO Mark Zuckerberg described the metaverse as “the next frontier,” outlining plans to reach a billion users and build a massive digital economy.

Horizon Worlds was meant to be a key part of that vision—a social VR space where users could interact, build, and play through avatars. Reality didn’t quite match the pitch.

Despite the hype, Horizon Worlds never gained meaningful traction. At its peak, the platform reportedly attracted only a few hundred thousand monthly users—a fraction of what Meta had envisioned. The broader challenge was harder to ignore: mainstream users simply didn’t adopt VR at scale.

Cuts and changing priorities

The shutdown also comes amid wider restructuring. Meta recently cut more than 1,000 jobs in its Reality Labs division—the unit responsible for VR and metaverse projects. Internal studios working on VR content were also affected.

Financially, the metaverse push has been expensive. Reality Labs has posted billions in losses each quarter, including a $6.02 billion operating loss in the most recent quarter. At the same time, Meta has been redirecting attention toward AI, which is now emerging as its primary focus.

Horizon Worlds isn’t disappearing entirely because Meta still sees value in the concept—just not in VR alone.The mobile version, launched in 2023, lowers the barrier to entry by removing the need for a headset. It positions the platform closer to experiences like casual social gaming rather than immersive VR.