In 2021, Facebook officially became Meta. This change wasn’t just cosmetic; it signaled the company’s new direction. Meta wanted to move beyond being known solely for social media and instead concentrate on creating the metaverse – a digital world they believe will be the future of the internet.
Like many major tech companies, Meta is now heavily focused on generative AI, essentially moving away from its previous ambitions for the metaverse. Recently, Meta’s virtual reality division was significantly impacted when the company closed multiple VR game development studios.
As a result, around 1,000 people have lost their jobs at Meta. These layoffs impact about 10% of the Reality Labs hardware division, the team responsible for creating products like the Quest headsets.
Sources familiar with the situation at Meta say the company is closing down four of its development studios: Armature Studio, Twisted Pixel, Sanzaru, and Oculus Studios Central Technology.
The company has also announced that its VR fitness app, Supernatural, will no longer be updated. The developers stated that, due to recent changes within the company, new content and features will not be added to the app, starting today.
However, the company says the app will remain active for existing users.
Facebook’s parent company is now focusing all its resources and skilled employees on artificial intelligence and wearable devices, shifting away from other areas that once held promise for the company’s future.
While speaking to Engadget, a Meta spokesperson indicated:
Last month, we announced we were moving some of our funding away from the Metaverse and towards Wearables. This announcement is a continuation of that plan, and we’ll use the money saved to help grow our Wearables business this year.
Meta says it remains dedicated to the gaming industry and wants to clarify that recent adjustments don’t mean it’s abandoning video games.
It’s noteworthy that Meta seems to be quietly scaling back its focus on virtual reality, even though it’s invested a lot in the technology. They’ve been unusually silent about their VR projects, particularly since releasing the Quest 3S headsets in 2024, suggesting a shift in priorities towards artificial intelligence.
Last month, the company stopped work on its planned Horizon OS headsets, made in partnership with Asus and Lenovo. Now, it appears that video game development is also being put on hold.
Meta is clearly making a major push in artificial intelligence. They’ve established a new lab focused on superintelligence, invested $14.3 billion in Scale AI and brought on its CEO, Alexandr Wang, to help run things. They’re also actively recruiting leading AI experts from companies like OpenAI.
Things aren’t going as expected at Meta. AI scientist Yann LeCun says the company may have faked performance results for its Llama 4 AI model to appear more competitive. He also believes Meta might have more job cuts in the future.
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2026-01-15 15:39