AR/VR

Meta's Metaverse Dream Crumbles With Deep Budget Cuts

The Metaverse Dream is Collapsing: Meta Confirms Your Suspicions with Massive Cuts
The Metaverse is Over Before It Even Began.
  • Meta Platforms Inc. is planning significant budget cuts for its metaverse division, the very project that prompted its name change from Facebook.
  • Executives are reportedly discussing slashing the budget by as much as 30% for the upcoming year.
  • The cuts would directly impact core metaverse products, including the Meta Horizon Worlds platform and the Quest virtual reality unit.
  • This drastic reduction in resources will most likely lead to layoffs, potentially as early as January.

The End of an Era?

In a stunning reversal of strategy, Meta Platforms Inc. CEO Mark Zuckerberg is preparing to make substantial cuts to the company's metaverse division. This ambitious project, once touted as the future of the internet and the very reason for rebranding from Facebook, is now facing a significant scale-back, signaling a potential end to one of the tech world's most expensive gambles.

Up to 30% of the Budget on the Chopping Block

According to sources familiar with the private discussions, company executives are considering budget cuts as high as 30% for the metaverse group next year. This division is responsible for flagship products like the social VR platform Meta Horizon Worlds and the popular Quest line of virtual reality headsets.

A reduction of this magnitude would have severe consequences, and the sources, who wished to remain anonymous, indicated that layoffs are a near certainty. The first wave of job cuts could impact employees as early as January, though a final decision on the exact figures has not yet been made.

A Dramatic Shift from a Billion-Dollar Bet

This move marks a dramatic pivot for Zuckerberg, who has invested billions of dollars and staked his company's reputation on building a persistent, interconnected set of virtual spaces. The vision was to create a new way for people to work, play, and socialize online. However, the reality of slow user adoption and immense financial losses has forced a major re-evaluation of the strategy that once defined Meta's future.

The planned cuts suggest that the tech giant is now prioritizing more immediate and profitable ventures, likely bowing to investor pressure and a shifting technological landscape. While the company has not made an official announcement, these internal discussions reveal a profound shift in focus away from the virtual world that gave the company its new name.

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