Meta announced a strategic pivot for its immersive platform, Horizon Worlds, moving it to a mobile‑first experience and formally separating it from the Quest VR hardware. The change, revealed on February 19, 2026, signals a shift away from a VR‑centric metaverse model toward a scalable, accessible mobile strategy that can compete directly with established casual gaming platforms such as Roblox and Fortnite.
The decision follows a period of heavy investment and losses for Reality Labs. Since 2020 the division has burned nearly $80 billion, laid off about 1,500 employees—roughly 10 % of its workforce—shut down several VR game studios including Armature, Sanzaru Games and Twisted Pixel, and halted new content for the Supernatural VR fitness app. These actions reflect the financial pressure and limited mass adoption of VR that have driven the pivot.
Management explained the rationale behind the move. Samantha Ryan, VP of Content for Reality Labs, said, "We’re explicitly separating our Quest VR platform from our Worlds platform and shifting the focus of Worlds to be almost exclusively mobile." CFO Susan Li added, "We are meaningfully reducing our investment in VR and Horizon this year, but we’re growing our investment in wearables." CEO Mark Zuckerberg noted, "We’re focusing on glasses and wearables moving forward, while also aiming for Horizon a massive success on mobile and making VR a profitable ecosystem over the coming years."
The shift frees resources for Meta’s growing AI infrastructure and the successful Ray‑Ban Meta smart glasses, which have seen sales triple. By reallocating capital from Reality Labs to AI and wearables, Meta aims to curb operating losses—Reality Labs’ Q4 2025 loss was $6.02 billion, a 21 % year‑over‑year increase—and position the company for higher‑margin, faster‑to‑market products.
Investor sentiment has historically been supportive of Meta’s rebalancing away from the metaverse. When Meta announced a 30 % cut to its metaverse budget in December 2025, the company’s stock rose nearly 3.5 %, reflecting confidence that the shift to AI and wearables would improve financial performance. The mobile‑first Horizon Worlds strategy is expected to generate similar positive reception, as it aligns with Meta’s broader focus on high‑growth, scalable technologies.
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