SAN FRANCISCO –Meta spent part of today denying reports that it planned to scale back VR support for Horizon Worlds in the metaverse. Its CTO rejected the claims and said the company still backs virtual reality. Even so, the sudden reversal points to a bigger problem. The metaverse is losing momentum, and AI is taking center stage.
Earlier in the day, reports said Meta might phase out core VR features in Horizon Worlds , its main social VR platform. That sparked a fast backlash from users, creators, and market watchers. Then came a public denial. Meta’s chief technology officer called the reports “completely false” and said the company remains committed to VR.
Still, the timing matters. Meta has already redirected major spending toward artificial intelligence. Its recent earnings calls make that plain. By the fourth quarter of 2025, the company stopped mentioning both “metaverse” and “Horizon” altogether.
At the same time, Meta picked up two AI startups, Moltbook and Manus. That shift says a lot. The virtual future Meta once pushed so hard now seems far less important than AI tools that cost less and work across more devices.
What Happened with Meta-Horizon Worlds Today
The story started early this morning. Several tech sites, along with unnamed sources, reported that Meta would end native VR support for Horizon Worlds by the middle of 2026. Under that version, the platform would stay live on phones and PCs, while the headset experience would slowly fade out.
That news hit creators hard. Many of them had spent years building spaces, events, and communities inside Horizon Worlds. Social media was filled with frustration almost right away. One creator summed up the mood: “We built this on the promise of VR. Now they’re backing away?”
A few hours later, Meta’s CTO pushed back. In a brief statement and follow-up comments, the executive said Horizon Worlds remains central to the company’s plans. VR support, Meta said, is staying put, and the company wants to improve the experience rather than cut it back.
The response cooled some of the panic. But the rumor did not appear out of nowhere. People close to the situation say internal talks about cost cuts may have fueled the leak. That alone shows how weak trust in the metaverse has become.
Meta’s Costly Metaverse Push, and the Thin Results
When Facebook changed its name to Meta in October 2021, Mark Zuckerberg described the metaverse as the next phase of the internet. He painted a picture of a shared virtual space where people would work, socialize, shop, and play through digital avatars.
Meta backed that vision with huge spending. The company put more than $50 billion into Reality Labs, the unit behind Quest headsets and Horizon Worlds. It gave away headsets, hosted virtual concerts, and launched digital workspaces. For a while, the idea felt possible.
Then, real-world limits set in. Horizon Worlds never came close to the daily user totals Zuckerberg talked about. Active users stayed in the low hundreds of thousands. Many people tried it once, then left. They complained about motion sickness, awkward controls, and worlds that felt empty.
By 2024, Meta stopped sharing exact usage numbers. Then, by late 2025, company leaders stopped using “metaverse” and “Horizon” on earnings calls. That silence said more than any press release could.
Earnings Calls Show Where Meta’s Attention Went
Public companies often reveal their priorities through the words they repeat and the words they stop using. Meta’s transcripts tell a clear story.
- 2022:“Metaverse” showed up more than 100 times in a single call
- 2023:Those mentions dropped by about half
- 2024:The total fell to single digits
- Q4 2025:“Metaverse” and “Horizon” were mentioned zero times
At the same time, Meta filled those calls with talk about AI, Llama models, and ad performance. Investors liked that shift. Reality Labs kept losing billions, at times around $4 billion per quarter, but Meta’s AI business started to show faster returns.
That change lines up with what users have noticed for months. Horizon Worlds feels less active. Big events are rare. Product updates move slowly. A platform once pitched as the future of social connection now feels sidelined.
Meta’s AI Push Looks Much More Serious
Today’s Horizon Worlds reversal happened while Meta was spending heavily on AI.
In recent weeks, the company completed two major acquisitions:
- Moltbook:An AI agent social network where digital assistants can chat, schedule plans, and manage parts of a user’s social life
- Manus:A startup focused on autonomous AI agents that can handle tasks such as travel booking, deal-making, and creative work inside virtual spaces
These deals reportedly cost hundreds of millions of dollars. More importantly, they show where Meta sees long-term value. Instead of building larger virtual spaces alone, the company appears more interested in AI that can function on phones, desktops, and VR headsets alike.
Zuckerberg hinted at that direction last year when he said AI agents would live inside virtual spaces and make them more useful. Now the agents seem to be drawing more attention than the spaces themselves.
The Rest of the Metaverse Market Isn’t Doing Much Better
Meta’s trouble is not unique. Across the tech industry, metaverse projects are hitting the same limits.
Roblox still has a large user base, but growth has slowed. Most of its money still comes from gaming, not from any broad metaverse concept. Fortnite can still pull crowds for live events, yet Epic Games has also eased off on some of its bigger metaverse ideas.
Crypto-based virtual worlds have fallen even harder. Decentraland and The Sandbox have lost most of the users they once had at their peak. Virtual land prices dropped sharply. Large sections of both platforms now sit mostly empty. NFT sales, once sold as the future of online ownership, have also dried up.
Apple’s Vision Pro launched with a lot of hype in 2024. Then demand cooled. At $3,500, the headset remains too expensive for most buyers. Microsoft has pulled back on Mesh for business use. Google has also stepped away from earlier AR glasses plans.
The same pattern keeps repeating. Companies made huge promises, spent a lot of money, and reached only small audiences.
Why the Metaverse Stalled: 7 Hard Problems
The metaverse did not fall short for just one reason. It ran into a stack of problems that kept feeding each other.
- High hardware costs: A solid VR headset still costs about $300 to $500, and many people won’t pay that for a device they use once in a while.
- Motion sickness: A large share of users still feel dizzy or sick after only a short time.
- No must-have app: After years of hype, there’s still no single experience that makes people feel they need VR.
- Empty spaces: Many virtual worlds feel lonely, and that kills the appeal fast.
- Safety concerns: Harassment, including reports of virtual groping and abuse, remains a serious issue.
- High building costs: Creating polished worlds takes money, time, and skilled teams, which pushes smaller creators out.
- Pressure from AI: Many people would rather use a smart AI tool on a phone than spend hours inside a headset.
Those issues stack up quickly. Fewer users mean fewer creators. Fewer creators mean fewer reasons to visit. That cycle is hard to stop once it begins.
How the Metaverse Went from Sci-Fi Dream to Corporate Obsession
The idea itself is much older than Meta. Neal Stephenson introduced the word “metaverse” in his 1992 novel Snow Crash . Later, Second Life showed that some people really did enjoy spending time in virtual spaces. But those early platforms remained niche.
Then Facebook rebranded as Meta in 2021, and that move changed the tone across tech. Suddenly, nearly every major company wanted a metaverse plan. Brands rushed in. Investors chased the story. Stocks climbed on hype alone.
By 2023, the mood had shifted. “Metaverse” turned into a punchline. Big names like Nike, Walmart, and Disney all trimmed back their efforts. Even Zuckerberg changed his language, leaning more on terms like “mixed reality” and, more recently, “AI experiences.”
AI Could Help Virtual Worlds, but It Could Also Replace Them
Meta’s current strategy leaves room for two outcomes.
On the hopeful side, AI could make virtual spaces feel alive. Smart agents could greet users, fill empty areas, run events, answer questions, and translate speech in real time. That would fix some of the biggest problems Horizon Worlds has faced.
On the other hand, AI may reduce the need for the metaverse altogether. If an AI assistant can help you work, shop, plan, create, or socialize through voice or text, then a bulky headset starts to look less necessary. Meta’s Moltbook and Manus deals suggest the company is preparing for both futures. It wants AI that works everywhere, not only inside VR.
What Industry Voices Are Saying in 2026
People who work in VR are speaking more plainly now.
“The metaverse as we pictured it in 2021 is over,” said one longtime VR developer who asked to stay unnamed. “Virtual worlds can still survive, but only if they solve real problems.”
A former Meta executive put it even more directly: “People don’t want to live inside the metaverse. They want fast, useful help. AI gives them that without the headache and nausea.”
Meanwhile, analysts at major banks have cut their metaverse forecasts again. One recent report expects the global market to shrink by 15% in 2026 before any recovery begins.
What Comes Next Could Be Smaller, and More Useful
The outlook is not entirely bleak.
Lighter headsets from Meta and rivals are expected later this year. Apple is also rumored to be working on a lower-cost Vision device. Better networks and edge computing may help reduce lag and improve comfort.
Some crypto supporters still believe decentralized worlds can recover if the tools improve and the costs come down. Gaming companies also keep finding ways to blend virtual goods with real-world value.
So the metaverse may not disappear. It may just become smaller and more focused. Instead of replacing the internet, it could settle into a narrower role in training, design, gaming, and premium entertainment.
Meta’s Next Steps Could Shape the Whole Category
Today’s denial about Horizon Worlds gives Meta some breathing room. But the broader signs point in one direction. The company’s earnings calls have dropped the metaverse language, while its recent acquisitions show a stronger interest in AI.
If Meta really invests in better VR hardware and stronger Horizon Worlds features, the platform could hold steady. If funding keeps moving toward AI agents and cross-platform tools, Horizon Worlds may slowly fade from the center of Meta’s plans.
Either way, the era that began with so much noise in 2021 has reached a clear turning point. The vision of millions of people living major parts of their lives in virtual worlds now feels far more distant.
The CTO’s comments may have eased today’s fears. They did not settle the larger issue. Right now, the metaverse looks weak, and AI looks like the winner.
