Meta has long viewed virtual reality (VR) as the sole gateway to the "Metaverse," but this strategy is now undergoing a major shift. According to Samantha Ryan, Vice President of Content at Meta Reality Labs...Latest official blog postMeta has officially separated its Metaverse platform Horizon Worlds from the Quest VR platform.
While this decision may seem to contradict Meta's original intention to create a fully immersive virtual world and make it the future of all online interactions, it appears quite pragmatic and reasonable when considered in light of Reality Labs' recent massive budget cuts and withdrawal from enterprise services, coupled with CEO Mark Zuckerberg's public statement that the company will focus on hardware such as AI and smart glasses.
Why split up? To make room for each entity to grow.
"We explicitly separated the Quest VR platform from the Horizon Worlds platform to create more room for growth for both products," Samantha Ryan explained in the article. "We will double down on the VR developer ecosystem while almost entirely shifting the focus of Horizon Worlds to mobile devices. By splitting things into two separate platforms, we can focus more on the development of each."
In fact, Meta has been developing Horizon Worlds in parallel since at least 2023.Mobile and Web VersionsThis announcement of a "separation" simply formally establishes action as the platform's core future strategy.
Aiming to rival Roblox and Fortnite, and embracing the benefits of a multi-billion-strong community.
For die-hard VR gamers, Horizon Worlds' shift to an "action-first" approach might not be good news, as it implies a compromise in immersion. However, from a business perspective, it's an essential step in expanding market share.
• Direct competition:Once it breaks free from the limitations of VR hardware, Horizon Worlds will become a more direct and natural competitor to Roblox or Fortnite.
• Traffic monetization:Meta believes this is a more scalable business, and that by connecting these virtual worlds with billions of users on the world’s existing “largest social networks” (such as Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp), it can create huge social dividends and monetization opportunities.
What's next for Quest VR? Hand it over to third-party developers.
So what about the Quest platform, which has been stripped of its burdens in the metaverse?
Although Meta closed several of its first-party VR game studios earlier this year, the company emphasized that it will continue to fully support third-party developers who release games on the Quest platform.
Meta stated that it will launch new monetization tools, improve game exploration mechanics, add a "Deals" tab, and provide developers with more channels to interact with players. Maintaining Quest's rich game lineup remains important for Meta's future development.
Earlier reports indicated that Meta is still developing a Quest headset focused on gaming experiences, and Chief Technology Officer Andrew Bosworth also confirmed earlier this month that several Quest hardware devices are still in development on the company's product roadmap.
