Meta to Slash Spending on Metaverse as Investors Lose Faith
In a significant shift, Meta is reportedly planning to drastically reduce its spending on the metaverse, just a few years after rebranding itself from Facebook. The company's interest in this virtual world has been waning, and now it seems that even Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, is starting to lose faith.
According to Bloomberg, the metaverse division could face significant budget cuts, with layoffs potentially occurring early next year. These cuts could amount to as much as 30 percent and would likely impact products such as Meta Horizon Worlds and the Quest virtual reality headset. The news comes just ahead of Meta's annual budget planning for 2026.
While Zuckerberg remains convinced that people will eventually spend most of their time in virtual worlds, it seems that he has come to realize this is still a long way off. In fact, the metaverse division at Reality Labs, which has lost more than $70 billion since 2021, is facing even deeper cuts.
Meta's shift in focus instead seems to be on developing large AI models and chatbots, as well as hardware products that incorporate these technologies, such as Ray-Ban smart display glasses. As investors have struggled to see the value in this metaverse concept, Meta is now taking steps to reduce its expenses and reallocate resources.
It appears that consumers too are not convinced about the benefits of the metaverse, with even VR headset sales faltering. The idea of immersing oneself in a virtual world may seem appealing at first, but it quickly loses luster as the novelty wears off.
With these budget cuts, Meta is sending a clear message: its investments in the metaverse are no longer guaranteed to pay off.
In a significant shift, Meta is reportedly planning to drastically reduce its spending on the metaverse, just a few years after rebranding itself from Facebook. The company's interest in this virtual world has been waning, and now it seems that even Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, is starting to lose faith.
According to Bloomberg, the metaverse division could face significant budget cuts, with layoffs potentially occurring early next year. These cuts could amount to as much as 30 percent and would likely impact products such as Meta Horizon Worlds and the Quest virtual reality headset. The news comes just ahead of Meta's annual budget planning for 2026.
While Zuckerberg remains convinced that people will eventually spend most of their time in virtual worlds, it seems that he has come to realize this is still a long way off. In fact, the metaverse division at Reality Labs, which has lost more than $70 billion since 2021, is facing even deeper cuts.
Meta's shift in focus instead seems to be on developing large AI models and chatbots, as well as hardware products that incorporate these technologies, such as Ray-Ban smart display glasses. As investors have struggled to see the value in this metaverse concept, Meta is now taking steps to reduce its expenses and reallocate resources.
It appears that consumers too are not convinced about the benefits of the metaverse, with even VR headset sales faltering. The idea of immersing oneself in a virtual world may seem appealing at first, but it quickly loses luster as the novelty wears off.
With these budget cuts, Meta is sending a clear message: its investments in the metaverse are no longer guaranteed to pay off.
like what's going on with meta? They just threw so much money at this metaverse thing and it was all for nothing 
. I mean, i get that it's not a bad idea or anything but come on, how long can you keep throwing cash at a dream that's still 10 years away from being a reality? 
. And don't even get me started on the whole concept of 'metaverse'... it sounds like something out of a sci-fi movie 
, not something we can actually use in our daily lives.
. I mean, who needs to invest billions in a virtual world when you could be doing something that actually has a practical use? 
70 billion loss? that's crazy 
maybe zuck needs to reevaluate their strategy or something 
It's time for them to focus on something that actually works, like AI and hardware. And let's be real, VR headsets are only cool for about 5 minutes before you realize you're just staring at a screen in front of your face 
and now they're just gonna cut costs even more? guess that's what happens when investors lose faith 
. i mean, don't get me wrong, ai and chatbots are cool and all but the metaverse just doesn't seem like a priority to me anymore 
. plus, have you seen the prices of vr headsets lately? they're like gaming consoles or something 
Metaverse is like that one friend who always borrows money and never pays you back 
, time to pivot or get left behind 
. Ray-Ban smart display glasses sound SO cool... I'd love to try one out ASAP 
. Maybe this is a good sign that Meta is shifting its priorities for a reason? Like, maybe they're not just throwing money at a pipe dream after all 
It's like everyone just jumped on the bandwagon without really thinking it through. And now Meta's trying to cut its losses? That's just good business sense 
.
. But honestly, after a few months of using one, I was like "meh" 
, you know what people actually use and love. The metaverse is just a fancy marketing gimmick 
. And Mark Zuckerberg's all about it now? Please