More trouble in the metaverse.
Facebook’s foray into the metaverse remains a shambles. According to Reuters, Meta’s Reality Labs division, which houses its hardware efforts and other metaverse initiatives, will be cutting some projects. It’s unclear which projects will be impacted, but Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth reportedly told employees that the company can no longer afford some of the work it had planned, and that some other projects will be “postponed.”
- “Cyber-mercenaries” who targeted 50,000 people were banned by Meta.
- To combat disinformation, Facebook may crack down on Russian government accounts.
The announcement is the latest setback to Meta’s ambitious plan to refocus the company on virtual reality and the metaverse rather than its social network. Reality Labs cost the company $10 billion in 2021, and the company plans to hire fewer people in 2022 than in previous years.
At the same time, the company is apparently still plugging away at Project Cambria, the “high-end” VR headset expected this fall. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg teased new details on “color passthrough technology” for the device that would “enable developers to build a whole new level of mixed reality experiences.” The company also just opened its first physical retail store outside of the headquarters for Reality Labs.
