Meta is shutting down its virtual reality (VR) social network Horizon Worlds, CNBC reported on March 18 local time.
Meta will remove the Horizon Worlds app from the Quest Store in late March and take it off VR platforms completely on June 15, CNBC said.
Horizon Worlds will then be available only as a standalone mobile app. Meta announced the decision, saying it would separate the two platforms to pursue growth for each.
Horizon Worlds was once central to Meta's metaverse strategy but lost direction after failing to attract users. Monthly active users remained at the level of several hundred thousand, and Meta's VR strategy was sharply scaled back as its VR game studios were restructured.
Horizon Worlds officially launched in late 2021, and a mobile version was released in September last year, but it did not become a mainstream platform like Roblox, CNBC said.
Reality Labs, Meta's VR unit, has posted losses of billions of dollars each quarter.
Chi-gyu Hwang
delight@d-today.co.kr