Meta is shifting its focus for Horizon Worlds from virtual reality headsets to mobile platforms, marking a significant pivot in the company’s metaverse strategy. The move, announced in a blog post on Thursday, signals that Horizon Worlds will now be “almost exclusively mobile,” transforming the once-ambitious VR social platform into a smartphone app. The decision comes after years of heavy investment in Meta’s Reality Labs division, which has spent nearly $80 billion since 2020 on VR hardware, smart glasses, and immersive experiences. Despite these efforts, Horizon Worlds has struggled to gain widespread traction, particularly among casual users. Samantha Ryan, Meta’s vice president of content at Reality Labs, said the company began testing Horizon Worlds on mobile last year and saw promising early results. “Now, to truly change the game and tap into a much larger market, we're going all-in on mobile,” she wrote. The shift is aimed at reaching a broader audience by leveraging the ubiquity of smartphones, rather than relying on VR headsets that remain niche. This strategic retreat follows a series of major cuts in the Reality Labs division. Last month, Meta laid off about 10% of its workforce in the unit, shut down three VR game studios it owned, and halted new content development for Supernatural, a popular VR fitness app acquired in 2023. Still, Meta insists it remains committed to virtual reality hardware and supporting third-party developers. Ryan emphasized that the company is “in it for the long haul,” pointing to a “robust roadmap” of upcoming VR headsets designed for different user segments. In 2025 alone, Meta invested nearly $150 million in VR developer platforms, and she highlighted that titles like “The Thrill of the Fight 2,” “Hard Bullet,” and “UG” have generated “millions” in revenue. However, data shows that 86% of time spent on Meta’s headsets is on third-party apps, not Meta’s own content. The mobile pivot reflects a recognition that the company’s internal offerings aren’t driving engagement at scale. On Meta’s latest earnings call, CEO Mark Zuckerberg described Horizon Worlds as the ideal home for “immersive 3D” content—such as AI-generated scenes, objects, and mini-experiences—that users could create with simple prompts. The vision now includes sharing these creations directly into Instagram, Facebook, or Threads, bypassing the need for a headset entirely. By moving Horizon Worlds to mobile, Meta is positioning the platform to compete with established giants like Roblox and Fortnite, which dominate the casual, mobile-first gaming space. The shift marks a clear retreat from the original metaverse dream of persistent, headset-based virtual worlds, replacing it with a more accessible, app-based model.