Meta Horizon Worlds to end VR support

Meta has announced that it will be ending VR support for ' Meta Horizon Worlds, ' a virtual space where users can interact and play games. Access from Quest headsets will end on June 15, 2026, and thereafter, only 2D screen experiences will be available through web browsers and smartphone apps.

Updates to Your Meta Quest Experience in 2026 | Meta Community Forums - 1369435
https://communityforums.atmeta.com/blog/AnnouncementsBlog/updates-to-your-meta-quest-experience-in-2026/1369435

Horizon Worlds Is Dropping VR Support, Going Flatscreen-Only
https://www.uploadvr.com/meta-horizon-worlds-dropping-vr-support/

Meta Discontinues Horizon Worlds for Quest Headsets as Focus Moves to AI - Bloomberg
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-03-17/meta-to-discontinue-key-metaverse-product-for-vr-headsets

With these changes, Horizon Worlds and Events will first disappear from the Quest Store by March 31, 2026, and some major worlds such as Horizon Central, Events Arena, Kaiju, and Bobber Bay will no longer be available in VR. Subsequently, after June 15, 2026, the Horizon Worlds app for Quest will be removed entirely, and all worlds will become unavailable in VR. On the other hand, worlds optimized for mobile will remain accessible through the Meta Horizon mobile app.

According to Bloomberg, Meta has acknowledged that Quest users will no longer be able to access Horizon Worlds, and a spokesperson reportedly indicated in a February announcement that the focus of Horizon Worlds would be shifted 'almost entirely to mobile.'

Meta Horizon Worlds was one of the core services in the metaverse concept envisioned by CEO Mark Zuckerberg. It was announced in September 2019 under the name 'Facebook Horizon,' and its beta version launched in August 2020.

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In 2021, Meta changed its name to 'Horizon Worlds' and launched a $10 million fund (approximately 1.1 billion yen at the time).

Facebook's social VR service is renamed 'Horizon Worlds,' and a 1.1 billion yen fund has been launched to support creators - GIGAZINE

Initially, its defining feature was the ability to directly create worlds within VR by using the Touch controllers within the Quest or Rift headset to place primitive shapes and add functionality with visual scripts. However, this often resulted in a rough visual appearance, which was frequently the target of ridicule on social media.

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In 2023, a desktop development environment was introduced that allowed users to use traditional game development workflows on their PCs, enabling the import of textured 3D meshes and the addition of features using TypeScript. By 2025, it had spread to all creators, but VR-related media outlet UploadVR points out that 'it may have been too late to reverse the deterioration of its reputation.'