Meta is continuing to support its VR metaverse for the time being.

Meta is shifting its approach to the VR metaverse, but not in the way you might expect. On Monday, the company revealed plans to discontinue the VR version of its 3D social platform, Horizon Worlds, on June 15th, opting instead to concentrate on the mobile app. However, during a Wednesday AMA on Instagram, Meta’s CTO Andrew Bosworth clarified that existing VR worlds will still be accessible, and the Horizon Worlds VR app will remain available for download “for the foreseeable future.”

Bosworth emphasized that keeping VR experiences alive is a way to support the dedicated fans who have expressed their passion for the platform. However, he noted that no new VR games for Horizon Worlds are in the pipeline, as the focus is primarily on the mobile version. “The reason for that is because that’s where most of the consumer and creator energy already was, and so we’re kind of leaning into that,” he explained.

Meta’s ventures into VR software have faced challenges; the company recently cut about 10 percent of its Reality Labs division, shut down three VR studios, halted new content for the VR fitness app Supernatural, and discontinued its work-focused metaverse. Despite this, Bosworth mentioned that Meta envisions the metaverse as more than just VR and immersive spaces. It also includes augmented reality and the integration of digital elements into the physical world. He has consistently conveyed that the metaverse is already present, though not uniformly distributed.

This broader interpretation of the metaverse can be illustrated by everyday scenarios, such as someone sitting next to you at a dinner table, engrossed in their phone. “When somebody is using their phone and you’re physically with them, they’re at the dinner table with you, and yet when you talk to them, they hear nothing, because they’ve transported themselves through the glowing rectangle into a digital space,” Bosworth said. He believes this expansive view of the metaverse encompasses both digital and physical interactions.