Meta Reverses Course on Horizon Worlds Shutdown, Signaling Continued VR Investment
In a swift about-face, Meta has announced that its virtual reality social platform, Horizon Worlds, will remain accessible on Quest VR headsets for the foreseeable future. This decision comes just a day after the company initially signaled plans to remove the VR version from the Quest Store and fully cease its availability on headsets by mid-June.
The retraction was confirmed by Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth in an Instagram story Q&A session. “We have decided, just today in fact, that we will keep Horizon Worlds working in VR for existing games to support the fans who’ve reached out,” Bosworth stated. This pivot appears to be a direct response to user feedback from the platform’s dedicated community.
Previously, Meta had communicated that Horizon Worlds would be phased out of the VR ecosystem, transitioning to a standalone mobile app. This original plan, announced on Tuesday, indicated that the VR version would be delisted from the Quest Store at the end of March and completely removed from headsets by June 15th.
However, Meta’s subsequent clarification emphasizes that while the VR platform will persist, its development trajectory is shifting. Bosworth elaborated that worlds created using the Horizon Unity game engine will continue to be exclusively available in VR. Crucially, no new game development will be initiated for the VR social network, with the company’s strategic focus now squarely aimed at mobile.
“Most of our energy is going towards mobile and the Meta Horizon Engine there,” Bosworth explained, noting that the mobile application has already captured “most of the consumer and creator energy.” The Horizon Engine, introduced in September at Meta’s Connect annual event, is positioned as the successor to Horizon Unity and is designed to power the Horizon Worlds mobile app, which launched in 2023. Meta claims the Horizon Engine offers “smoother performance, sharper visuals, and the capacity to support larger audiences.”
The decision to maintain the VR presence for Horizon Worlds, despite its lukewarm reception, is noteworthy. Horizon Worlds, launched in 2021, has struggled to achieve mainstream popularity. Reports have indicated that the platform has consistently fallen short of user engagement targets, rarely surpassing a few hundred thousand monthly active users. This stands in stark contrast to established gaming platforms like Roblox, which regularly boasts over 100 million daily active users, highlighting the competitive landscape Meta is navigating in the metaverse space.
This reversal suggests that while Meta is doubling down on its mobile metaverse strategy, it recognizes the enduring value and dedicated user base of its VR iteration of Horizon Worlds. The company’s sustained investment in the metaverse, despite persistent challenges in user acquisition and monetization, underscores its long-term vision for immersive digital experiences, even as it recalibrates its development priorities. The future of Horizon Worlds on VR will likely depend on its ability to retain and engage its existing user base while Meta continues to explore new avenues for growth in the evolving metaverse.
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