Meta turns its back on VR games. That’s the feeling many, myself included, are having after reports that Meta shut down Twisted Pixel, Sanzaru, and Armature, the game studios behind Marvel’s Deadpool VR, The Wrath of AsgardAnd Resident Evil 4 VR, respectively (among other VR projects).
Furthermore, Supernatural – the excellent VR fitness app that was the keystone of my VR exercise routine – will no longer receive updates or new content (via the Supernatural Facebook group and emails sent to users). It will, however, “remain active”, even if questions remain on certain specific points – for example, The supernatural Will the catalog of licensed music eventually become almost zero, or will partnerships be renewed again?
In a statement to Engadget, a Meta spokesperson said: “We said last month that we were shifting a portion of our investments from the Metaverse to wearables. This is part of that effort, and we plan to reinvest the savings to support wearables growth this year.”
When I contacted Meta to respond to allegations that it was turning its back on virtual reality, a representative told me that “Meta has nothing to share on this.”
While Meta may not have much to share on this topic, I do: it’s pretty clear that Meta isn’t interested in pushing VR in the same way it once was.
The Oculus Quest 2 looked like the moment virtual reality had been waiting for. Helped, in part, by people stuck at home due to COVID-19-era lockdowns and by its truly affordable price for a solid VR machine, the Quest 2 sold phenomenally.
In less than six months, it sold more units than all previous total sales of all other Oculus headsets, and while it’s difficult to track precise numbers for each machine, it appears that for a while the Quest 2 was outselling even Xbox Series consoles (via Android Central).
However, Meta’s golden goose didn’t last forever, and the Meta Quest 3 didn’t land with the same splash, despite being an awesome device in its own right.
And now Meta has a new favorite child: AI and its AI wearable devices like the (also very popular) Ray-Ban Meta glasses, and as he said, he’s shifting some of his investments and priorities toward this new venture.
Is VR gaming dead?
VR gaming isn’t dead yet, if only because Valve has its Steam Frame headset due to arrive later in 2026, and while it won’t be as affordable as a Quest 3 (most likely), the fact that it’s a Steam Deck for your face – so it sort of serves as a Steam Deck and a pair of XR glasses for enjoying your games on a big virtual screen – as well as having its full VR gaming potential makes me at least a little confident that he will have a strong landing.
Additionally, if Valve or Google are looking to bolster their XR gaming efforts – Google has its Android XR platform – I’ve heard a lot of talented people are free agents right now.
Marvel’s Deadpool VR is a fantastic game to capture the true promise of what it would be like to be Deadpool, and The Wrath of Asgard 2 is a superb, more open-world action adventure that VR doesn’t have enough of. Seeing the teams behind these games working on something for a VR headset with some PC power could be amazing.
Or if Android XR wants a dedicated XR fitness platform, the Supernatural The team knows what they’re doing, and I think there’s so much more to explore with fitness in XR – especially AR. Additionally, from a music licensing perspective, Google might have an even easier situation, as it already offers services like YouTube Music, which could open up an even wider suite of workout options.
We’ll have to wait and see how 2026 plays out, but while this announcement is frustrating for Quest fans, I think there’s still some potential for VR to have a stronger year than 2025 – even if it’s elsewhere.
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