The meta has announced the end of the metaverse, and I’m a little sad

in A post on his community blog today, Meta released a timeline for the shutdown Horizon Worlds For VR users. This Horizon Worlds The app and related events will disappear from Quest headsets by March 31, and VR users won’t be able to use the Social Hub at all after June 15, 2026. Horizon Worlds Will continue, Meta says, but only for mobile users.

“We are separating the two platforms so that each can develop more focused, and the Horizon Worlds platform will become a mobile-only experience,” the company explained in the post. “This separation will extend across our ecosystem, including our mobile apps.”

Horizon Worlds Launched in 2021 as a VR-only platform where users could interact in a virtual space, it was beset by early technical and design limitations (most famously, it didn’t have legs for the user’s Metaverse avatar). However, at the time, the company hoped that Metaverse would eventually attract more than a billion users, and Horizon Worlds was seen as an integral part of it. Apparently, that didn’t happen – on top of that, Horizon WorldsThe number of monthly users was only around 200,000.

What happens to users’ digital purchases and creations?

a long time Horizon Worlds Users are certainly asking what will happen to their in-world digital items. The good news is that your worlds-Certain purchases and creations will not be cleared immediately; Meta says that your digital items or currency will be linked to your account. The bad news is that you’ll only be able to access them through the mobile app in a “mobile-optimized” world, so if a creator hasn’t updated their world for mobile, your items can effectively become inaccessible.

After June 15, you won’t be able to create or edit worlds in VR. Meta is encouraging the use of their web-based tools, but the immersive building experience that defined the platform is officially coming to an end.

The change is part of an overall strategy shift from the meta, which will put more resources into AI and smart glasses. In JanuaryMeta shuttered its AAA VR game development companies, stopped updating its first-party subscription-based fitness app supernatural, and laid off 1,500 people from its VR-division Reality Labs.

Given all that, though, Meta says it’s not pulling out of the VR game altogether. In a blog post on February 19, Samantha Ryan, vice president of content at Reality Labs, promised that Meta is “doubling down on VR,” but is still moving away from first-party development to focus on hardware, support third-party developers, and add features to Quest itself. “It’s no secret we’re still in the hardware game,” Ryan wrote. “We have a strong roadmap of future VR headsets that will be tailored to different audience segments as the market grows and matures.”

Such a sad ending Horizon Worlds

I poked around Horizon Worlds When I got my Quest 3 headset a few years ago. “Oh, I can decorate a little house or meet people” I thought; Then I logged out and never went back—I have a real house that I can decorate, and I use VR because I don’t. As Folks But a few months ago, when it became clear that Meta was moving away from the VR space it created, I got curious, strapped on a face computer, dusted off the old avatar, and went on a Horizon Worlds safari. I’m glad I did.

to go Horizon Worlds Sounds weird. It’s like visiting someone else’s dream—especially Mark Zuckerberg’s dream and its sub-dreams. world Volunteer creators. “The defining quality of Metaverse will be the sense of presence… The feeling of being truly present with another person is the ultimate social technology dream. That’s why we’re focused on building this,” said Mark Zuckerberg. Connect 2021And those billions (probably as much $25 billion) on their dream word, where nothing ever gets dusty and everyone is an endlessly smiling cartoon ready to pay the overseer real money for the latest digital sneakers.

Then there are the thousands of creators who spent countless hours creating more than 10,000 worlds you can visit—nightclubs, basketball stadiums, restaurants, etc., even though they’re almost empty. As flashy as it looks, nobody lines up on the velvet ropes of a digital nightclub. Horizon Worlds There is a huge dead mall, a capitalist cathedral with no congregation, the ultimate liminal space.

An exotic atmosphere is reason enough to visit, but there is a true side to it worlds But finally I found a world where People conquered the uncomfortable nature of VR and created a real community. Soapstone Comedy Club isn’t huge, but it’s thriving, and it’s one of the many places where small groups gather. Horizon Worlds. There are conversation pits that people use to meet, nightly comedy shows and a collection of friendly regulars to chat with. It also grew from the ground, just as Zuck had predicted. Well, comedies are rarely funny. But people are good.

Some soapstoners are housebound and disabled, and VR gives them opportunities that the real world denies them. Some seem like weirdos who might be having trouble finding real-life friends who can’t mute them at will. And there are some regular people who blow off some steam after work. I’m sad for all of them—comedy clubs are not the same on phone screens. So before the digital wrecking ball takes down everyone’s hang-out spots Horizon Worlds‘ The rest of the residents, you should stop in and say hi. Not much time left.