- Palmer Luckey doesn’t think the Meta layoffs will be a bad thing for VR
- The Oculus founder shared his thoughts on social media
- Unfortunately, this writer does not share his optimism
We still fear that Meta will shut down more first-party VR software studios, but at a time when it feels like VR is in a serious slump, some are choosing to look on the bright side – and argue that this is actually a good thing for the industry.
One loud voice in that crowd is Palmer Luckey — the founder of Oculus VR, who later founded military contractor Anduril Industries after being fired by Facebook in 2017 after acquiring Oculus — who took to social media to say the layoffs are “Not a disaster.”
He added: “I think it’s a good decision, and I thought the same when I was still at Oculus.” He explained further down in his lengthy post that “All developers big and small, even the hyper-efficient ones, have found it extremely difficult to compete with games developed by Meta-owned teams with budgets and teams spending far beyond their earning potential.”
I have an opinion about the Meta layoffs that is at odds with most of the VR industry and much of the media, but strongly held. This is not a disaster. They still employ the largest team working on VR by about an order of magnitude. No one else is even close. “The meta is…19 January 2026
Luckey is not the first person to highlight these problems with Meta’s strategy. We know that it has thrown money at VR in a way that many other developers – both on the hardware and software side – simply cannot. In turn, this has created a de facto one-party system.
Why buy anything other than a Meta Quest headset when it boasts the best software support and the best hardware (or close to the best) for the price being charged?
Although when it comes to the Quest ecosystem specifically, the games produced from these studios hardly “crowded the rest of the entire ecosystem,” as Luckey put it. One, maybe two VR games a year from Meta itself doesn’t outshine the many great VR games and apps out there – but the deluge of Horizon Worlds and free slop software clogging up prime spots in the Meta Store and advertising carousels certainly does, and according to UploadVR reporting, many developers were complaining about this a year ago.
While free-to-play titles will keep some users active, big tentpole attractions are what bring people in – especially e.g. Batman: Arkham Shadowor Marvel’s Deadpool VR with very recognizable IP. But with VR still in its relatively infancy, you need investment to make these tentpole titles happen.
Now without the teams making the recognizable franchises that convince people to dip their toes into VR, I can see VR’s popularity taking a nosedive.
What’s more, looking at displacement from a hardware perspective, you can see that Meta has also incorporated its third-party HorizonOS headsets – devices that would have seriously helped VR not feel like a one-horse race.
Taken individually, I might understand the silver linings people like Luckey see. Looking at the bigger picture, however, the dark clouds seem to stretch for miles in all directions.
A move in a new direction, or several missteps?
This also doesn’t take into account the smart glasses aspect of the Meta’s failure, and how the VR expertise it just lost could have played a crucial role in its alternative XR future.
Especially with display glasses looking set to be the next big thing, the Meta will have content for its smart specs, and games and fitness apps will be essential here, just as they were in VR.
Imagine being able to have a virtual one Supernatural coach helps you run through a workout at your local park in AR, or some kind of IRL AR multiplayer game that was developed using the spatial computing expertise of the studios themselves, which Meta just closed.
To that end, this move again doesn’t seem too sensible.
Meta has undoubtedly made many missteps with the Quest headset. It’s also very true, but essential services like productivity and entertainment have fallen behind compared to the smart glasses rivals I’ve tested.
But as many have said, it feels like Meta has decided to refocus away from VR, and unlike Luckey, I don’t believe this is good for the industry. I hope I’m wrong, but the more I think about the wider space – especially the rise of glasses over headsets – I can’t help but feel that this is a death knell for VR, with the space potentially set to hit an ice age that will last many years before we possibly return to normal.
Maybe, hopefully, I’m wrong. There are still plenty of excellent third-party VR developers out there, and we’ve got Steam Frame set to land later this year, so maybe they’ll fly the flag. I’m just not feeling too optimistic right now.
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