Meta backtracks on decision to end Horizon Worlds VR fans speak up
Pavlo Gonchar| SOPA Pictures | Light Rocket | Getty Images
A day after Horizon Worlds for Quest announced it would be shutting down its virtual reality headsets, Meta changed course. The VR platform will remain available “for the foreseeable future,” the company said Wednesday.
“We actually decided today that Horizon Worlds will continue to work in VR for existing games to support fans who reach out to us,” Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth said. Instagram story Q&A.
Meta previously announced It announced on Tuesday that Horizon Worlds will be removed from the Quest Store at the end of the month and will be removed from VR headsets entirely on June 15. The company said that after this date, the game can only be played on its standalone mobile application.
Meta confirmed the change in an email to CNBC on Thursday.
Bosworth said in his follow-up announcement that worlds are evolving with technology. Horizon Unity game engine It will remain available only in VR and no new games will be added to the VR social network.
“A lot of our energy is going into mobile and the Meta Horizon Engine there,” Bosworth said, adding that the mobile app already has “a lot of its consumer and creative energy.”
Horizon Unity supported Horizon Worlds from its launch in 2021 until September, when Meta announced it at the event. Connect annual event He said that it will be replaced by the new Horizon Engine.
According to Meta, Horizon Engine delivers “smoother performance, sharper visuals, and the capacity to support larger audiences.” It develops games for the Horizon Worlds mobile application, which was launched in 2023.
Horizon Worlds failed to gain mainstream popularity. CNBC previously reported that the platform attracted no more than a few hundred thousand monthly users, but the popular gaming platform never arrived. roblox regularly reports over 100 million daily active users.
WRISTWATCH: Why is meta willing to lose billions of dollars in the metaverse?
