"Meta's enormous bet on virtual reality ended this week with the company reportedly laying off roughly 1,500 employees from its Reality Labs division - about 10% of the unit's staff - and shutting down several VR game studios, according to The Wall Street Journal. It's a huge reversal for a company that, just four years ago, staked its entire identity on the concept."
"As industry watchers might remember, Facebook rebranded itself as Meta in 2021, promising to usher in a new era of technology led by VR devices. In part, the decision was a bet on Gen Z's preference to socialize in online games like Fortnite and Roblox as opposed to traditional social media apps. The change also helped Meta distance itself from the negativity surrounding its Facebook brand."
"According to CNBC, some of the casualties include studios making VR titles inside Meta, like Armature Studio (" Resident Evil 4 VR"), Twisted Pixel (" Marvel's Deadpool VR"), and Sanzaru (" Asgard's Wrath). Meanwhile, the VR fitness app Supernatural, which Meta acquired in 2023 for $400 million, will no longer produce new content and will move into "maintenance mode." Camouflaj, the studio behind the "Batman: Arkham Shadow" VR game, has also been impacted by layoffs, as reported by GeekWire."
Meta cut roughly 1,500 Reality Labs jobs, about 10% of the division, and closed or pared back several VR game studios. The company rebranded from Facebook to Meta in 2021 and centered its identity on VR and the metaverse, betting on younger users favoring in-game socializing. The Facebook brand had endured data privacy scandals, whistleblower revelations, congressional scrutiny, misinformation concerns, and monopoly allegations. The metaverse effort has been deprioritized as attention shifts to artificial intelligence. Several acquired products and partnered studios were moved to maintenance or faced layoffs and closures.
Read at TechCrunch
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