At its Connect conference, Mark Zuckerberg presented the metaverse as a long-term direction for virtual and augmented reality (VR/AR) social experiences. The event set the stage for later corporate and product changes by framing immersive virtual worlds as a future “platform” for communication and commerce.
Facebook, Inc. filed an amended certificate of incorporation and changed its corporate name to Meta Platforms, Inc. The move separated the corporate brand from the Facebook app and tied the company identity more directly to VR/AR and metaverse development.
Meta made Horizon Worlds free and broadly available to people 18+ in the United States and Canada, moving beyond an invite-only beta. This was a key step in turning a metaverse concept into a public, consumer-facing social VR product.
Meta’s Reality Labs segment reported a very large operating loss for 2021, reflecting heavy investment in VR/AR hardware and software. The figure highlighted a central tension in the strategy: rapid spending on long-term metaverse goals versus near-term profitability.
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission sued to stop Meta from buying Within Unlimited, maker of the VR fitness app Supernatural. The case showed that metaverse-related expansion could trigger antitrust scrutiny, especially when a platform owner buys content or app makers.
At Meta Connect 2022, Meta introduced the $1,499 Quest Pro, positioning it as a higher-end device for work and “mixed reality” (digital content layered onto the real world). The launch reflected Meta’s attempt to broaden the metaverse beyond games into meetings and productivity.
Meta announced layoffs of more than 11,000 employees and described a need to become more “capital efficient.” In the same message, Zuckerberg listed the metaverse as a long-term priority alongside AI and ads, showing that cost cutting and metaverse investment were happening at the same time.
The European Union’s Digital Services Act (DSA) entered into force, creating new responsibilities for online platforms, including transparency and risk management requirements that scale with platform size. While not specific to VR, the DSA signaled a tougher regulatory environment for large platforms that could also shape governance expectations for future metaverse services.
Meta disclosed that Reality Labs lost $13.72 billion in operating income during 2022, even as it generated only a small share of total company revenue. The scale of losses increased investor attention and helped drive internal pressure for clearer results from metaverse spending.
Meta announced additional job cuts and reorganization as part of a “year of efficiency,” emphasizing tighter spending and faster execution. The shift mattered for the metaverse strategy because it signaled that long-horizon projects would face stronger budget and performance scrutiny.
At Connect 2023, Meta announced Quest 3 and presented AI features alongside VR/AR, showing a broader “AI + devices” roadmap. The event suggested the metaverse vision would continue, but increasingly as one part of a wider strategy rather than the only headline.
Quest 3 shipped in October 2023, expanding Meta’s consumer hardware base for metaverse-style experiences. At the same time, Reality Labs continued to post very large annual operating losses, reinforcing that adoption and revenue were not yet matching the investment scale.
Facebook/Meta rebrand and corporate metaverse strategy (2021–2023)