Is Virtual Reality Really Dead?
Virtual reality is facing challenges with low user engagement and significant financial losses for major players like Meta and Apple. However, past tech failures have seen revivals, suggesting VR's potential isn't entirely extinguished.
Meta’s losses and Apple Vision Pro’s struggle suggest VR is dead. But beyond empty corporate worlds, a more human medium is being born.
TechnologyBy Stephen Johnson
Key Points
- •Meta's Reality Labs has lost over $73 billion in five years, leading to a shift in focus towards smart glasses and AI.
- •Apple's Vision Pro sales were significantly lower than iPhone sales in the same period.
- •Horizon Worlds has a small active user base compared to games like Roblox.
- •Despite excellent hardware, VR adoption rates are low.
- •Past tech failures, such as the 1983 video game crash, suggest that VR could potentially experience a revival.
virtual realitymetaapplehorizon worldstechnologymarket analysisvr
Body
Things don't look great for virtual reality. Once seen as the future of online interaction, the present has caught up to VR, and it's brutal: Meta is by far the biggest dog in the virtual reality kennel, and its virtual reality division, Reality Labs, lost over $73 _billion_ since it launched five years ago, leading the company to pull some resources from VR to focus on smart glasses and AI. Apple, seen as the runner-up in the VR market, shipped only 45,000 Vision Pro headsets in the final quarter of 2025, a rounding error compared to the 82.6 million iPhones Apple sold in the same period.
At his metaverse introduction in 2021, Mark Zuckerberg envisioned _Horizon Worlds_ as a vast digital continent, but its active user base is around 200,00 people. For comparison, kids’ game _Roblox_ boasts over 380 million monthly active users. And this is all despite Meta's and Apple's headsets being excellent hardware, by almost all accounts.
In the cold light of the ledger, virtual reality looks like shambling corpse, too dumb to know it’s dead. But they said the same thing about video games in 1983—Atari’s death looked like the end of the road, but then the NES came out.
Zuckerberg’s sales pitch of a billion people living in a frictionless, legless, gravity-free vacuum of suburban-techno-capitalism might be gone—it turns out we didn’t want _another_ world full of random people—bu
Sources: article, user_text
Raw Input
Is Virtual Reality Really Dead? | Lifehacker https://lifehacker.com/tech/is-virtual-reality-dead
Content Versions (2)
[user_text] User Submission
Description: Is Virtual Reality Really Dead? | Lifehacker https://lifehacker.com/tech/is-virtual-reality-dead
Body text
Is Virtual Reality Really Dead? | Lifehacker https://lifehacker.com/tech/is-virtual-reality-dead
[article] Is Virtual Reality Really Dead?
Description: Meta’s losses and Apple Vision Pro’s struggle suggest VR is dead. But beyond empty corporate worlds, a more human medium is being born.
Quality: Article scraper OK; Iframely OK; Best image: iframely_thumbnail
Body text
[](https://lifehacker.com) [Stephen Johnson](/author/stephenjohnson) Stephen Johnson Senior Staff Writer Experience Stephen Johnson is a senior staff writer at Lifehacker covering pop culture and technology, including the columns “The Out-of-Touch Adults’ Guide to Kid Culture” and “What People Are Getting Wrong This Week.” Areas of Expertise [Read Full Bio](/author/stephenjohnson) February 6, 2026 [Add as a preferred source on Google](https://www.google.com/preferences/source?q=lifehacker.com) [Add as a preferred source on Google](https://www.google.com/preferences/source?q=lifehacker.com) We may earn a commission from links on this page.  Credit: René Ramos/Lifehacker Composite/Adobe Stock ## Table of Contents * * * Things don't look great for virtual reality. Once seen as the future of online interaction, the present has caught up to VR, and it's brutal: Meta is by far the biggest dog in the virtual reality kennel, and its virtual reality division, Reality Labs, [lost over $73 _billion_](https://finance.yahoo.com/news/meta-makes-drastic-workforce-decision-181700636.html "open in a new window") since it launched five years ago, leading the company to [pull some resources from VR](https://www.cnbc.com/2026/01/13/meta-lays-off-vr-employees-underscoring-zuckerbergs-pivot-to-ai.html "open in a new window") to focus on smart glasses and AI. Apple, seen as the runner-up in the VR market, shipped only [45,000 Vision Pro headsets](https://www.fool.com/investing/2026/01/05/almost-no-one-is-buying-apples-vision-pro-headset/ "open in a new window") in the final quarter of 2025, a rounding error compared to the 82.6 million iPhones Apple sold in the same period. At his metaverse introduction in 2021, Mark Zuckerberg envisioned _Horizon Worlds_ as a vast digital continent, but its [active user base is around 200,00 people](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horizon_Worlds "open in a new window"). For comparison, kids’ game _Roblox_ boasts over 380 million monthly active users. And this is all despite Meta's and Apple's headsets being [excellent](https://lifehacker.com/tech/meta-quest-3s-review) [hardware](https://www.pcmag.com/reviews/apple-vision-pro?test_uuid=04IpBmWGZleS0I0J3epvMrC&test_variant=B "open in a new window"), by almost all accounts. In the cold light of the ledger, virtual reality looks like shambling corpse, too dumb to know it’s dead. But they said the same thing about [video games in 1983](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_game_crash_of_1983 "open in a new window")—Atari’s death looked like the end of the road, but then the NES came out. Zuckerberg’s sales pitch of a billion people living in a frictionless, legless, gravity-free vacuum of suburban-techno-capitalism might be gone—it turns out we didn’t want _another_ world full of random people—but what’s growing in its place is a bottom-up community built by filmmakers, game developers, and regular people, all creating a new way to belong. ## Virtual reality filmmaking is an exciting new avenue “What we're all trying to do is build the Holodeck from _Star Trek,”_ said Matt Celia, co founder and creative director of [Light Sail VR](https://lightsailvr.com/ "open in a new window") told me. Light Sail has been producing VR films and video for the past 10 years, and its catalog includes everything from [concerts at Red Rocks](https://lightsailvr.com/redrocks_shawnmendes.php "open in a new window") to [narrative VR series](https://lightsailvr.com/genv_s2.php "open in a new window") to an Emmy-winning immersion into [_Saturday Night Live's_ 50th Anniversary](https://lightsailvr.com/snl50.php "open in a new window"). “My belief in the medium is unshaken,” Celia said. “I think this is the most authentic way to tell stories.” According to Celia, experiencing films in VR frees the viewer from distractions that mar other ways of watching—your phone’s bright screen isn't going to pull your attention, and you literally don't have visible surroundings to distract you. “When you make the conscious choice to put on a headset, to watch a piece of content and engage with it, it's actually transformative, almost meditative," Celia said. More than just a new way to show old movies, immersive film is a new medium being born; filmmakers are inventing a new language. Whether it’s in a you-are-there, 360-degree view of Steve Martin’s _SNL_ monologue_,_ narrative VR series like Eli Roth's [_The Faceless Lady_](https://lightsailvr.com/ctv_facelesslady.php "open in a new window")_,_ or interactive documentary experiences like [_D-Day: The Camera Soldier_](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/d-day-the-camera-soldier/id6737838494 "open in a new window")_,_ artists are using virtual reality to tell stories in a completely new way. “We're all obsessed with this idea that we can live and breathe into a story,” Celia said, “That is what's driving us all to create these more and more immersive and impressive and impactful experiences.” ## Gaming in virtual reality is still great, too Visionary experiences are great, but [most people buy VR headsets to play games](https://yougov.com/en-us/articles/48421-what-are-the-top-things-american-consumers-are-looking-for-in-a-vr-headset "open in a new window"). The news that Meta [shuttered three of its AAA game development studios](https://lifehacker.com/tech/meta-is-shutting-down-popular-supernatural-vr-fitness-app)—Armature, who brought _Resident Evil 4_ to VR; Sanzaru, the studio behind _Asgard’s Wrath_; and Twisted Pixel, creators of _Deadpool VR_—might suggest that VR gaming is on life support. It could also just be the growing pains of the gaming industry figuring out what works in a new medium. Virtual Reality game studio [Resolution Games](https://www.resolutiongames.com/ "open in a new window") seems to have cracked the code. The company has grown consistently since it started up in 2015, selling [millions of games despite a challenging environment](https://mixed-news.com/en/resolution-games-2023/ "open in a new window"), with its flagship title [_Demeo_](https://zdcs.link/aX412W?pageview_type=Standard&template=Opinions&module=content_body&element=offer&item=text-link&element_label=Demeo&short_url=aX412W&u=https%3A%2F%2Flifehacker.com%2Ftech%2Fis-virtual-reality-dead&event_label=Demeo "open in a new window") earning [critical raves](https://www.ign.com/articles/demeo-review "open in a new window") and a partnership with Wizards of the Coast on [_Demeo x Dungeons & Dragons: Battlemarked_](https://zdcs.link/aD8Jje?pageview_type=Standard&template=Opinions&module=content_body&element=offer&item=text-link&element_label=Demeo%20x%20Dungeons%20%26%20Dragons%3A%20Battlemarked&short_url=aD8Jje&u=https%3A%2F%2Flifehacker.com%2Ftech%2Fis-virtual-reality-dead&event_label=Demeo%20x%20Dungeons%20%26amp%3B%20Dragons%3A%20Battlemarked "open in a new window"). “We are very conservative with our funds, and we're very resource efficient,” Tommy Palms, the CEO of Resolution said. “You have to be if you live in this space, where \[there are\] few hits and they don't typically make as much money as they would in other ecosystems.” No matter how prudent the management, no game studio survives if the games aren’t good, and Resolution’s games are very good, often in ways that seem counter-intuitive to what we thought VR games would be. “A big grand virtual world, like _Cyberpunk_ or _Grand Theft Auto,_ but you’re inside it... now we know in reality, that's not a very comfortable experience, unfortunately,” Palms said. Instead of that immersive world, [_Demeo_](https://zdcs.link/aX412W?pageview_type=Standard&template=Opinions&module=content_body&element=offer&item=text-link&element_label=Demeo&short_url=aX412W&u=https%3A%2F%2Flifehacker.com%2Ftech%2Fis-virtual-reality-dead&event_label=Demeo "open in a new window") puts players at a game table in a virtual basement with their friends. You’re not _in_ a dungeon; you’re a person playing a game _about_ a dungeon. “It creates a much more social situation in general because it increases the chance for you to play with your friends,” Palms explained. “You're doing something together, solving a problem or focusing on something else, you're just with your friend.” Speaking of friends, if Mark Zuckerberg’s original vision of the Metaverse was about anything, it was about bringing people together. “Feeling truly present with another person is the ultimate dream of social technology. That is why we are focused on building this,” Zuckerberg wrote in his [Founder’s Letter in 2021](https://about.fb.com/news/2021/10/founders-letter/ "open in a new window"). Central to that vision was [_Horizon Worlds_](https://horizon.meta.com/?locale=en_US "open in a new window"), a digital ecosystem designed to draw a [billion residents](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5TJ5ENxCUQs "open in a new window") and hundreds of billions of dollars in digital commerce. It's been nearly five years since launch and Horizon Worlds' overall cost-per-user likely outpaces the GDP of small nations, so I wanted to check out how it's doing; experiencing an environment that weird is more than enough motivation to strap on the old face-computer and poke around. _Horizon Worlds_, circa 2026, feels dead. But dead in a unique way. Tens of thousands of “worlds” have been created by both users and corporations, and they're shiny, bright, and open to explore, but not many people seem interested. Randomly picking worlds is like walking around in an abandoned mall—stuff, but no people. If you're into "liminal spaces," you will never run out. Still, like the headsets it's played on, _Horizon Worlds_ is really good. Take [The Office World](https://horizon.meta.com/world/499845036213705/?locale=en_US "open in a new window"), an official recreation of _The Office_'s Dunder Mifflin, right down to the desktop tchotchkes. You can walk into Michael Scott’s office and pull games up on his computer, sort mail for Schrute Bucks, or go downstairs to check out the warehouse. The Office World is filled with the kind of cleverly written fan-service details that should draw droves of _The Office_ faithful to hang out and meet each other. But they don’t. During the half hour I spent in The Office World at 2:00 PM on a Tuesday**,** the population count never got above five people. It's lonely in there, like a water cooler with no co-workers around it or an empty film set with no one there to call “action.” What do you think so far?  Doesn't this looks "fun?" Credit: Stephen Johnson I had a similar experience at [Blumhouse Horrorverse](https://horizon.meta.com/world/632338729966053/?locale=en_US "open in a new window"), an atmospheric, shadowy forest clearing surrounded by spooky buildings. It's filled with things to see and do for fans of Blumhouse properties like _M3GAN_, _The Purge_, and _The Black Phone._ You can play a game where you’re locked in a mansion with a player-controlled villain, or search for hidden Easter eggs to unlock _M3GAN’s_ signature dress for your avatar. But the woods were _so_ quiet. The few people I encountered were either very young children—the "squeakers" that haunt every corner of Horizon Worlds—or first-timers who wandered around in silence before vanishing like ghosts.  Liminal, right? Credit: Stephen Johnson ### But I found signs of life in the digital ruins I was about to call quits on my virtual safari, but I thought I'd check out one last world. A search for "over 18" (damn squeakers) brought up [The Soapstone Comedy Club](https://www.soapstonecomedy.com/ "open in a new window"). I'm glad I visited. The spot is alive. There's a full schedule of upcoming stand-up shows, trivia, improv, and karaoke—and more importantly, there are _people_ _hanging out_. Upon logging in, a friendly volunteer introduced herself, and before long I was chopping it up about life, online and off, with a bunch of new pals on the patio of a virtual comedy club.  Check my new computer friends. Credit: Stephen Johnson "If you told me 10 years ago that I was going to be known as 'The Unemployed Alcoholic,' and I would own a pretend comedy club in a cartoon land, I wouldn't have believed you," Aaron Sorrels, know as "TheUnemployedAlcoholic" online, told me. "And I sure wouldn't have believed I could sell my wife on the idea," he added. In recovery and unemployed, Sorrels watched that now-infamous [Facebook Connect event in 2021](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uvufun6xer8 "open in a new window") that launched the Metaverse, and rather than clowning on it because the avatars didn't have legs, Sorrel was inspired. "It sounds almost hokey," Sorrels said, "but I heard about the Metaverse, specifically _Horizon Worlds_, and I was like, 'I got to get in there.'" With no background in programming, Sorrels built Soapstone from the ground up, creating a career for himself, paid gigs for others, and more importantly, a place for people to belong, just like Zuckerberg envisioned. "I came in to build a comedy club, and what's ended up coming out of it is more than a comedy club. There's a community of people that have adopted The Soapstone as theirs" Sorrels said. "It's not a corporate place, or someone else's place. This place belongs to them." "In the Soapstone, I can host shows, step on stage, or instantly connect with friends and family members who live thousands of miles away as if they were right here in the same room," explained Soapstone Community Lead LollyDee. "It’s especially meaningful for people with anxiety, physical limitations, or those who live far from social hubs. For many of them, Soapstone Comedy isn’t just entertainment, it’s their social space and sense of community." Sorrels definitely doesn't think VR is dead. "There are dynamic and powerful things happening every day, every moment of every day in VR," Sorrels said. "I think back on what I heard Mark Zuckerberg say four years ago... he said it was a 10-year process. We're not halfway through it yet." The loud, anarchic vibe of [VRChat](https://hello.vrchat.com/ "open in a new window") is too much for me, but about [40,000 (mostly young) people](https://tracker.gg/population/steam/438100 "open in a new window") use it to connect every day. [Big Screen](https://www.bigscreenvr.com/ "open in a new window") has a healthy user base of VR cinephiles checking out 2D and 3D movies. People are virtually beating each other up 24/7 in [_Thrill of the Fight 2_](https://zdcs.link/aMKY61?pageview_type=Standard&template=Opinions&module=content_body&element=offer&item=text-link&element_label=Thrill%20of%20the%20Fight%202&short_url=aMKY61&u=https%3A%2F%2Flifehacker.com%2Ftech%2Fis-virtual-reality-dead&event_label=Thrill%20of%20the%20Fight%202 "open in a new window"). I could go on, but you get the picture: VR might not have broken big, but specialized communities are thriving in all corners of the metaverse. In 2026, the "Next Chapter of the Internet" version of the Metaverse, where we would all would live, work, and buy digital sneakers, is something of a ghost town. But a more sustainable, organic space is taking root. VR isn't a second world; it’s a group of specialized tools for specific passions—a private IMAX theater for the cinephile, a global open-mic night for would-be comedians, a tactical tabletop for D&D nerds. VR isn't everything to everyone, but it's something to someone, and there's nothing more alive than that. Never miss a tech story Get the latest tech news, reviews, and advice from Jake and the team.