Tech Giants Shift Strategies: The Metaverse Dream Shattered, Reflections After $73 Billion Investment

TokenomicsTrapper · 2026-01-19T16:20:12+00:00

Tech giant Meta's expectations for the metaverse are gradually waning, with Reality Labs laying off 1,500 employees, halting several VR projects, and shifting focus to AI. Despite cumulative investments exceeding $73 billion, the department remains unprofitable. This highlights how strategic shifts by major companies impact the market.

TokenomicsTrapper

2026-01-19 16:20:12

Abstract generation in progress

【Crypto World】Tech giants who once had high hopes for the Metaverse are quietly changing their tune. Meta has laid off approximately 1,500 employees in its Reality Labs division, accounting for 10% of the department, and is simultaneously shutting down several VR game studios — this is not a minor adjustment but a strategic U-turn.

It’s a bit ironic to say the least. This company renamed itself from Facebook to Meta in 2021, vowing to fully commit to the future of virtual reality. But what is the reality? Reality Labs has been burning money, with total investments surpassing $73 billion, yet it remains in a state of loss. Today, the company’s focus has already shifted to the AI field.

The specific actions in this round of layoffs include shutting down internal studios, halting new development for the fitness app Supernatural, which was acquired for $400 million last year, and cutting the Workrooms project aimed at enterprise VR applications. In other words, from consumer to B2B, from gaming to enterprise applications, Meta’s ambitions in virtual reality are being realized one by one. For the development of Web3 and decentralized applications, this also reminds us — the strategic swings of large companies are themselves a real part of the market.

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NFTArchaeologist

· 16h ago

$73 billion invested and still losing money, Meta's recent moves are truly outrageous. No wonder they've shifted their focus to AI. Honestly, the metaverse is just a bubble, a money-burning black hole. It's good they've woken up and cut losses in time. That fitness app from Supernatural made me laugh. Spending $400 million and abandoning it in less than two months? The Web3 story still needs to be told properly. Is this what you call a strategic adjustment? I feel more like strategic surrender. I knew something was going to go wrong the moment Meta changed its name from Facebook. Going all-in on the metaverse was a huge gamble.

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MemeEchoer

· 16h ago

$73 billion just like that? Laughable. The metaverse dream is shattered, and we still have to rely on AI to save the day. --- When they rebranded to Meta, they really dared to boast. Now? It's another gamble that lost. --- Money-burning master, no one does it like Meta. --- So the future of virtual reality is... shutting down studios? --- They gave up on a $400 million fitness app. This time, it's really admitting defeat. --- From Facebook to Meta to All in AI, tech giants are changing their plans on a whim. --- Reality Labs is purely a black hole for money. --- Has anyone thought about whether these people even know how to play the metaverse? --- Pouring $73 billion and still losing money—how much can they burn? --- Closing all VR studios, in plain terms, means this path is no longer viable.

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GasWrangler

· 16h ago

ngl, meta burning through $730B on vr labs just to pivot to ai is demonstrably the most gas-inefficient capital allocation i've seen. technically speaking, if you analyze the actual roi metrics here, the math just doesn't compute. they basically torched like 1500 jobs' worth of resources... sub-optimal doesn't even cover it

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StopLossMaster

· 16h ago

$73 billion went down the drain. Is this what you call all in? Laughing to death --- The metaverse dream shattered pretty quickly. Just switch to another track and keep burning money --- Really impressive. Last year they were hyping VR's future, and this year they're already selling it off --- I've said it all along, this thing is just a PPT concept. Now it's finally clear --- $400 million Supernatural also has to be abandoned. This pace... is a bit embarrassing --- AI is truly the real deal. The metaverse has completely fallen apart

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AlwaysAnon

· 17h ago

730 billion dollars wasted, this is what you call all in haha --- The day Meta changed its name, I knew it was over. The money-burning machine shifted to AI --- Supernatural spent 400 million on a fitness app that was shut down just like that. Their decision-making is top-notch --- From changing names and surnames to changing careers, the Metaverse dream is truly shattered --- Even in a loss-making state, they still have to keep burning money. No one can withstand that --- I just want to know what those 1500 people are thinking. Fire you all to embrace AI --- The name Reality Labs is really ironic. Reality is just a financial disaster --- Is AI more fragrant or VR? Meta uses 73 billion dollars to help you answer that --- Clear the field quickly before shifting to AI. Do you understand what strategic adjustment means? --- Another big company's dream shattered scene. Who's next?

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