Meta Splits Its Virtual Ambitions, Pivots Horizon Worlds to Phones

Meta is formally cleaving its Horizon Worlds platform from its Quest VR business, a strategic retreat from its all-in-one metaverse vision. The move, announced by Meta's VP of Content Samantha Ryan, signals a pragmatic shift for the company's Reality Labs division, which has faced significant cuts. It aligns with CEO Mark Zuckerberg's renewed emphasis on AI and hardware like smart glasses.

Ryan stated the separation is intended to give each product room to evolve. "We’re doubling down on the VR developer ecosystem while shifting the focus of Worlds to be almost exclusively mobile," she wrote. This repositions Horizon Worlds as a mobile-first platform, a direct challenge to user-generated content hubs like Roblox and Fortnite. Meta believes this path offers greater scale, leveraging its ability to connect with billions through its existing social apps.

The pivot is a concession that the immersive, VR-native metaverse remains a niche pursuit. While Meta recently closed internal VR game studios, it insists on supporting third-party Quest developers with new monetization and discovery tools. Maintaining a robust game library is a stated priority, especially as reports from late 2025 indicated work on a gaming-centric Quest headset. CTO Andrew Bosworth confirmed in February that multiple new Quest devices remain in development.

Ultimately, Meta isn't abandoning the metaverse concept but is betting its most accessible version will live on the device already in everyone's pocket.