Maybe VR Doesn’t Want Meta After All

As a lot as Meta has insisted that it isn’t losing interest in VR, its actions as of late have indicated in any other case. Probably the most important and most blatant clue that VR is turning into much less of a precedence got here earlier this month when the corporate introduced important layoffs in its Reality Labs division—the unit accountable for its endeavors in XR and VR.

While these layoffs affected a variety of individuals within the outfit, VR clearly took the brunt of it. As I outlined final week, Meta shuttered most of its first-party VR studios and, consequently, a number of the greatest studios making VR video games, interval. It was a grim day for VR writ massive and a blow to arguably the perfect a part of most VR headsets—gaming.

On one hand, it’d be simple to have a look at the goings-on (Meta’s layoffs, their virtually full lack of mentioning VR at Meta Connect 2025, and the possible lack of recent Quest {hardware} this yr) and proclaim, “VR is cooked.” We’ve implied as a lot, and there’s validity to that grim assertion, to make sure. But there’s a counterpoint to that forecast, too, and it’s that perhaps (simply perhaps) VR doesn’t even want Meta to start with. Case in level: all the nice VR {hardware} as of late.

Take the Lynx R2 VR headset, which was formally revealed simply this week. While the Lynx says the R2 received’t be out there to order till this summer time, there’s so much to entice anybody involved in VR. The headset crushes the Quest 3‘s field of view (FOV), for one, offering a 126-degree FOV compared to the Quest 3’s 110-degree FOV. It additionally does one thing that Meta would by no means; it’s making its headset open-source. Lynx says it’s releasing schematics for the R2, which ought to assist anybody who desires to mod the machine achieve this extra simply than Meta’s Quest. It’s early days, and there’s no worth or official launch date but, however the {hardware} is promising—and Lynx isn’t the one one.

At CES 2026, I obtained an opportunity to strive some rising {hardware} from Pimax, a VR firm out of Shanghai. I received’t rehash all my ideas once more (you possibly can learn all of them right here in the event you actually need), however the headset is sort of impossibly mild (lighter than an iPhone 17), brilliant, and sharp. While it’s wired, and never a super resolution for everybody, it confirmed me a glimmer of simply what VR {hardware} may very well be within the not-so-distant future. In brief, the Pimax Dream Air is promising, and it’s truly centered on gaming, which remains to be the perfect a part of any VR headset.

In a technique, it’s unusual to have such thrilling VR {hardware} rising at a time when the most important title within the sport appears to be quickly divesting, however in one other, it makes good sense. Meta’s purpose was all the time to deliver VR mainstream. With absurdly aggressive pricing (mainly a Meta subsidy on VR) and a large enough equipment for advertising and marketing and growth, Meta was clearly making an attempt to promote a lot of Quest headsets, and it has managed to push quite a few.

That effort was vital in some ways. For one, it introduced VR headsets into the dialog for extra than simply hobbyists, arguably dragging firms like Apple and Samsung together with it. Meta, for all its foibles within the house, helped develop VR as a vacation spot on the patron tech map and certain paved the way in which for different firms to take action in its push.

The factor is, there’s an opportunity that VR was by no means actually meant to be such a large class. As nice because the expertise might be, these aren’t gadgets that most individuals wish to use on a regular basis, and any firm pitching one which approach (taking a look at you, Apple Vision Pro) hasn’t actually gained a lot traction. What if—and listen to me out—VR wasn’t meant to go mainstream? Maybe it’s only a area of interest factor, and that’s okay?

I’m not delusional; I received’t sit right here and let you know that Pimax, Lynx, and even Valve are going to crack the code and promote gadgets within the tens of millions. But I additionally received’t sit right here and let you know simply because they’re doubtless not going to promote tens of millions of items, that VR is useless. Meta may be pulling again, however the path that it cast for VR isn’t fairly closed but, simply perhaps a bit of bit extra slim than we’re used to. As a lot as I’m responsible of forgetting to make use of my Quest headset, the experiences I’ve had in it may be compelling, and for some individuals, they will even be sticky.

I’m not usually an optimist, but when there’s one factor that VR {hardware} recently has instilled in me, it’s that VR may nonetheless have some legs, and if the wonky avatars in Horizon Worlds are any indication, Meta doesn’t have the perfect historical past with legs in VR.