When Meta announced its vision for the metaverse in 2021, the company painted a picture of shared virtual spaces where people could work, socialize, and play in entirely new ways. Offices would shift into 3D meeting rooms, concerts would feel like front-row experiences, and digital land would fuel new economies. Four years later, the reality looks very different. While Meta has invested more than $60 billion into building this future, much of the promise remains out of reach. The company has made progress with hardware, but its social platform has yet to gain real traction.

Meta’s Reality Labs division, which develops its virtual reality and augmented reality products, has reported heavy losses. In the second quarter of 2025 alone, the division lost $4.53 billion, with only $370 million in revenue. Since 2020, Reality Labs’ total losses have exceeded $60 billion, a figure that raises questions about whether the investment will ever pay off.

One bright spot in Meta’s strategy has been the Quest line of headsets. The devices are relatively affordable compared to competing products and do not require a high-end PC to run. By late 2024, more than 14.5 million units had been sold. The Quest 3, and the upcoming Quest 3S, have been praised for offering untethered freedom, sharper visuals, and apps that make gaming, fitness, and entertainment more immersive. Even though sales dipped slightly year-over-year in the second quarter, the headset remains one of the most popular ways for people to experience virtual reality. The hardware is not yet profitable, Meta often sells headsets at a loss to encourage adoption but it has helped introduce millions of people to VR.

Horizon Worlds Falls Short

In contrast, Meta’s social platform, Horizon Worlds, has not lived up to expectations. Despite being designed as the centerpiece of the company’s metaverse vision, Horizon has fewer than 300,000 monthly active users. This number is very small compared to competitors like Roblox, which boasts millions of players. Reports from inside Horizon describe sparsely populated worlds, awkward controls, and experiences that fail to hold users’ attention. Many people who try it once do not return, citing empty environments and technical frustrations. The lack of strong community engagement undermines Meta’s hope of making Horizon the hub of digital social interaction.

While Horizon struggles, Meta’s Ray-Ban smart glasses are performing better than expected. Sales tripled year-over-year, and the glasses have found an audience by blending digital features into everyday life. Unlike full VR headsets, they do not require complete immersion, making them easier for people to adopt. This success suggests that consumers may be more comfortable with subtle augmented reality features than with fully virtual environments.

Divided Reactions from the Community

The response to Meta’s metaverse efforts has been mixed. Supporters argue that Quest headsets have made VR more accessible and opened the door to new forms of entertainment. Many gamers point to popular apps such as Beat Saber as examples of how VR can deliver fun, practical experiences. Critics, however, highlight the gap between Meta’s enormous investment and the results so far. They describe Horizon Worlds as a “ghost town” and argue that without compelling applications, even the best hardware risks becoming underused. Some believe Meta is shifting its focus toward artificial intelligence and augmented reality, leaving Horizon as an expensive experiment.

The Bigger Picture

The financial and cultural impact of Meta’s metaverse project goes beyond gaming. Investors are closely watching whether Reality Labs can reduce losses, as continued spending without returns could strain the company’s long-term growth. Competitors like Apple and Microsoft are pursuing their own strategies in virtual and mixed reality, adding further pressure on Meta to deliver results. For developers, the Quest headsets provide opportunities to reach millions of users, but Horizon’s lack of popularity limits the growth of social VR content. Indie creators, in particular, face challenges in finding sustainable audiences inside Meta’s ecosystem.

On a broader level, Meta’s journey reflects the difficulty of building a digital future that balances technology, community, and practicality. Virtual reality offers clear benefits for gaming, fitness, and media, but creating meaningful social spaces has proven much harder. Motion sickness, awkward controls, and privacy concerns continue to be obstacles for mainstream adoption.

Looking Ahead

Meta has signaled that 2025 and beyond will be crucial years for its strategy. The company is expected to continue developing its Quest headsets while placing greater emphasis on augmented reality devices, especially smart glasses. Horizon Worlds may see improvements with the addition of artificial intelligence features, but it remains uncertain whether this will be enough to attract large numbers of users. Some analysts predict that by 2030, Meta could spend close to $100 billion on its metaverse ambitions. The long-term hope is that these investments will eventually pay off through new forms of communication, entertainment, and commerce. Others warn that if Meta fails to build compelling experiences, Reality Labs could remain a costly experiment rather than a profitable business.

The story of Meta’s metaverse is still unfolding. For now, it shows both the potential and the challenges of trying to reshape how people interact online. The hardware is moving forward, but without engaging software, the dream of a thriving virtual world remains out of reach.