Another nail in the Metaverse coffin: Meta Horizon Worlds is shutting down in three months for VR, but the mobile app will remain

A social platform for some, an annoying bit of bloat on a VR headset for others, Meta is closing down the VR version of Horizon Worlds on June 15, this year. As of March 31, it will disappear from the Quest store, so you have a few short weeks to download it, if you want to give it a go before the big day.

Users of Meta Horizon Worlds on VR were sent an email from Meta clarifying the closure, and stating that the mobile app will stick around. Meta then made an announcement on the community forum and pasted that same announcement into the "Meta Quest and Horizon community" Discord server.

"We are separating the two platforms [VR and Horizon] so each can grow with greater focus, and the Horizon Worlds platform will become a mobile-only experience. This separation will extend across our ecosystem, including our mobile app," Meta says.

Though you will get a few months with the app in VR before it goes offline, official Meta areas like Horizon Central, Events Arena, Kaiju, and Bobber Bay will not be available after March 31.

Notably, those with Meta's subscription plan, Meta Horizon Plus, will no longer receive Horizon Worlds benefits like Meta Credits, Digital Clothing, and avatars. However, Meta hasn't announced a plan to give away anything more with the subscription in return. It's like if Fortnite Crew removed the Rocket League season pass, without adding more V-bucks or digital extras.

Meta points to its article "Our Renewed Focus in 2026" as a reason for this change. It notes that Meta is shifting focus and 'doubling down on VR', announcing plans to support third-party developers. This article points out the $150 million it invested in VR developers in 2025, but it feels shallow given it closed three VR studios and laid off around 10% of Reality Labs a month prior, and the whole 'shutting down VR Horizon Worlds' thing.

In fairness, Meta did say that it would put a new focus on mobile worlds, so the announcement is somewhat in character, and it clarifies that, after June 14, users will be able to "jump into all your favourite mobile-optimised worlds on the Meta Horizon mobile app."

So, if you like the idea of Meta Horizon Worlds but simply didn't want to put your headset on to actually go in there, boy, does Meta have you covered. If the only reason you actually ever played it is because you didn't have many games on your VR headset and felt kinda bored that one time (guilty), then you're out of luck.