Meta plans to cut about 10% of staff at its metaverse unit, Reality Labs, this week and could announce the layoffs as soon as Tuesday, according to a report. The division employs roughly 15,000 people, and about 1,500 roles are expected to be eliminated.
The company has been shifting funding from metaverse projects toward artificial intelligence and will move some Reality Labs money to its wearables business, according to the firm’s metaverse page. Earlier reports said the firm eyed cutting about 30% of its metaverse budget.
Financials show the unit has lost over $70 billion since 2020, and it posted about $4.4 billion in operational losses in Q3 2025 (data and the company’s earnings report).
User adoption for non-gaming metaverse platforms remains low while gaming platforms dominate the sector, with Roblox and Fortnite leading the market (data). Smaller projects show minimal activity; The Sandbox logged about 776 unique active wallets in 30 days per DappRadar, and one report suggests Horizon Worlds sees under 900 daily users (report) (Ed. note: this contrasts sharply with mainstream platforms).
Meta’s CEO has remained optimistic about metaverse potential, once calling 2025 a “pivotal year” for the industry.
