Meta shuts down Metaverse after $80 billion loss, ends Horizon Worlds era

https://techstartups.com/2026/03/18/meta-shuts-down-metaverse-after-80-billion-loss-ends-horizon-worlds-era/

324 points · 56 comments · view on lemmy.world

56 Comments

UnspecificGravity@piefed.social · 93 pts · 172d (1 reply)

Hilarious that this company is now named after a failed product. It would be like if Ford changed it's name to Pinto.

matengor@lemmy.ml · 10 pts · 171d

Haha. I will remember that.

NewOldGuard@lemmy.ml · 87 pts · 172d (3 replies)

Can’t believe they really rebranded around this shit when we all knew it was a nonsense non-concept five years ago, lmao

scrubbles@poptalk.scrubbles.tech · 42 pts · 172d (1 reply)

This should be taught in MBA and finance classes for how Bros get caught up in a hype cycle and how it's all bullshit

Pika@sh.itjust.works · 32 pts · 171d

they don't learn either cause they dove head first into AI right after.

sakuraba@lemmy.ml · 6 pts · 171d

well we need to remember they changed their name to meta after zucc went to the senate due to the Cambridge Analytica scandal

umbrella@lemmy.ml · 70 pts · 171d (1 reply)
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quick_snail@feddit.nl · 9 pts · 171d

I think that would end all poverty in the entire world

Mongostein@lemmy.ca · 62 pts · 172d (4 replies)

They lose $80B and are still in business? That’s insane.

Botzo@lemmy.world · 29 pts · 172d

Gotta pad that balance sheet with losses. Can't be paying taxes if you can write off speculative ventures that just might pay off fund other misadventures.

TwilitSky@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 170d

Also, there are still people dying of hunger.

Thunderbird4@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 170d (1 reply)

Not only that, their company is worth over $500B more than it was when they rebranded as Meta. They were valued around $1T at the time and around $1.5T today. So they have completely failed to accomplish anything of value or substance, anything that improves life for anybody, or anything at all related to their entire metaverse concept in that time, and yet the market has deemed that they should continue to skyrocket in value.

timbuck2themoon@sh.itjust.works · 1 pts · 170d

Which is why they do it. Stock markets don't like idle money. For all they wasted here they made it back anyway. They'll do it again with some other bullshit too.

neukenindekeuken@sh.itjust.works · 37 pts · 171d (2 replies)

They could have cured homelessness 4x over. But instead we got crappy little Zuck-like avatars and an ecosystem nobody ever asked for or wanted.

Fuck this world man.

EatMyPixelDust@lemmy.blahaj.zone · 4 pts · 170d

The world is okay, it's billionaires and stupidity that's the problem

Objection@lemmy.ml · 2 pts · 170d

Yes, but have you considered that you can simply buy a house on the Metaverse?

ch00f@lemmy.world · 32 pts · 171d

For everyone who never tried it, they had honest to god paid employees in Horizon Worlds to help players get oriented. I cannot imagine a worse job.

The one I ran into was standing in front of some “game” experience that was like…jumping on tiles or some shit.

ChicoSuave@lemmy.world · 31 pts · 172d

Buying real estate in the Metaverse used to be compared to buying land on the moon. But Zuck can't turn off the moon, so it's arguably a better investment.

ordnance_qf_17_pounder@reddthat.com · 30 pts · 172d
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astraeus@lemmy.ml · 27 pts · 171d
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wesker@lemmy.sdf.org · 25 pts · 172d (1 reply)

I tried to tell him.

wewbull@feddit.uk · 8 pts · 171d

He could have paid you $40B for that advice and still be better off.

ch00f@lemmy.world · 22 pts · 171d (5 replies)

But I thought the whole line was “hOrIzOn WoRlDs iSnt the MeTaVeRsE.”

Followed by no explanation of what the metaverse is.

davel@lemmy.ml · 25 pts · 171d (4 replies)

Finally it can be explained: 1) Dig a ditch, 2) Dump in $80B, 3) Light it on fire.

Whostosay@sh.itjust.works · 6 pts · 171d (3 replies)

You didn't slap the acronym AI anywhere on that, you'd only be able to burn 10B through your method.

davel@lemmy.ml · 4 pts · 171d (2 replies)

1a) Buy $80B in crypto.
1b) Sell the crypto for $50B.

Whostosay@sh.itjust.works · 3 pts · 171d (1 reply)

Wait. But how will we starve the browns?

Unpigged@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 3 pts · 171d

Of course by jacking up the energy and water prices, Watson!

sakuraba@lemmy.ml · 16 pts · 171d (4 replies)

remember 6 years ago when everyone was saying 'learn to code'?

now what?

titanicx@lemmy.zip · 9 pts · 171d (2 replies)

Back to physical hardware, installation, troubleshooting. Been doing that as my focus for years. I'm so busy I turn down work.

sakuraba@lemmy.ml · 3 pts · 171d (1 reply)

yeah looks like this is the way now, people are not buying new hardware

titanicx@lemmy.zip · 1 pts · 171d

They are. Just at the Enterprise and business level.

iamericandre@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 170d

Go to a trade school

desmosthenes@lemmy.world · 13 pts · 171d (3 replies)
TwilitSky@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 170d (2 replies)

There really should be consequences for top leadership when even 1% of the company has to go. I'm a businessperson. When you lay off a bunch of people it's not because you suddenly discovered smarter ways to work in your industry.

95% of the time, It's because you planned poorly. 5% of the time, events that could not have been planned for derail things.

If the workers have to suffer consequences for the organization to survive, fine. Take out the leadership who sent the company down the tubes with their orders in the first place.

desmosthenes@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 170d

but unfortunately mark has complete control and his board has no power

desmosthenes@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 170d

100% agreed

kazerniel@lemmy.world · 11 pts · 171d

ahh the schadenfreude... 😈

drmoodmood@lemmy.ml · 11 pts · 170d (2 replies)
EatMyPixelDust@lemmy.blahaj.zone · 3 pts · 170d

lol wtf

GameOverFlow@lemmy.zip · 2 pts · 170d

bummer

TwilitSky@lemmy.world · 10 pts · 170d

Remember when everyone made fun of Second Life? Now the people who made it don't need to feel embarrassed anymore because at least they weren't involved in Metaverse. If you were involved with both, there's no salvation left.

Patrikvo@lemmy.zip · 7 pts · 170d

The Metaverse cycle:

10 Some article remind me it exist;

20 I shrug and continue not to care about the Metaverse;

30 I forget about the existance of the Metaverse;

40 Some amount of time passes;

50 GOTO 10.

SavageCoconut@lemmy.world · 7 pts · 170d (1 reply)

It doesn't matter now. All those idiots who wrote books about how good the mataverse was, how it was going to change our lives, how we will be able to talk to costumer support in a virtual office from our house… all those people who wrote about it did the leap to talk about AI and now are writing about how good AI is… goshhhh

ActualCommunistLearning@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 170d
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crazycraw@crazypeople.online · 7 pts · 172d

ohh bless their hearts.

i love this for them.

eestileib@lemmy.blahaj.zone · 6 pts · 170d (1 reply)

I think it's hilarious that the entire press and Meta are both like "ope, people don't want to hang out in VR".

furries continue to hang out in VR chat

HubertManne@piefed.social · 2 pts · 170d

I think its hilarious they are called meta. they will never be able to get away from their shame.

RedGreenBlue@lemmy.zip · 5 pts · 171d (3 replies)

Where did the money go? Programmer salaries?

wewbull@feddit.uk · 16 pts · 171d (1 reply)

That's a very good question. How do you spend $80billion?

Zuckerberg makes Brewster look like an amateur.

madcaesar@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 171d

Tax write offs. There's no way they spent 80 billion, but they'll claim 80 billion in tax deductions for the "loss"

quick_snail@feddit.nl · 2 pts · 171d

Yes. And lawyers. And hardware manufacturing. And energy to run servers.

Sunforged@lemmy.ml · 4 pts · 172d

One more reason for centralized planning.

Laax@piefed.ca · 4 pts · 172d

Darn shame, poor Zuck

merdaverse@lemmy.zip · 3 pts · 170d

Are they going to rebrand to Slop now to follow the latest trend?

RememberTheApollo_@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 170d

We have had Meta headsets for a couple years. Still don’t know what the “metaverse” is. The headsets are fun, though.

Tiger666@lemmy.ca · 2 pts · 170d (1 reply)

Those lobsters should have top hats and monocles.

TwilitSky@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 170d

Not everything has to be so realistic.

NigelFrobisher@aussie.zone · 1 pts · 170d

Did anyone even think about this once while not reading news stories about it?

G3NI5Y5@europe.pub · 1 pts · 170d

No surprise