Meta’s VR scale-back is heading into phase two as the company has revealed its timeline for the full closure of its Meta Horizon Worlds metaverse. At least the VR version of it.
As TechRadar reports, in an email sent out to Meta account holders, Meta revealed that starting on June 15, 2026, we’ll no longer be able to build, publish or update VR worlds. What’s more, we won’t be able to access Meta Horizon Worlds using VR headsets; instead, the spaces will be exclusive to the Meta Horizon mobile app. That is, provided they’ve been optimized for mobile.
What’s more, starting on March 31, Horizon Worlds and Events won’t appear in the Quest Store, and Horizon Central, Events Arena, Kaiju, and Bobber Bay will no longer be available to enjoy in VR.
On the one hand, this move is being cheered by many VR fans. Horizon Worlds has never been overly popular, and its increasing prominence in Meta Quest feeds — pushing out third-party software many would rather see — has been a major criticism amongst many.
As one Reddit user put it under a post about the announcement, “So that means that those world thingies won’t be mixed up with my games anymore? I see that as a win.” They are far from the only person with that mentality. “I’m glad it’s gone but I’m worried about what it means for Quest and VR as a whole,” sums up this sentiment succinctly.
For a start, this is a major VR shutdown. While Horizon Worlds might not have been the most popular, it was a major platform from arguably the most important company in the space: Meta — as its headsets make up the vast majority of those in the hands of VR users. This is therefore a serious reversal of its VR approach, and while Meta has said it’s still dedicated to the medium, it does feel like the end of an era.
It’s also a big bummer for the World’s loyal fanbase; the folks who would have spent hours crafting their perfect VR hangout space and have now lost that work, as exploring on mobile just won’t be the same. Maybe there are only dozens of those people, but if your favorite VR software just shutdown you’d be upset, too, and really sad to see it go.
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