The "Facebook metaverse" is the shared virtual world Mark Zuckerberg made the company's focus when Facebook renamed itself Meta on 28 October 2021. It has never run on a blockchain and has no token. Five years later Meta is still spending on it, but less. On 21 October 2026 Meta said Reality Labs, the unit behind its VR and AR products, lost $4.13 billion in the third quarter. It now expects $18–19 billion in losses for 2026 and about $15 billion in 2027. Zuckerberg also said Meta will "only ship new devices when we have major breakthroughs" in VR. The blockchain metaverses that rallied on the 2021 rebrand, Decentraland (MANA) and The Sandbox (SAND), are still running, but their tokens trade about 98–99% below their all-time highs.
The latest: Q3 2026 results (21 October 2026)
Meta's 10-Q for the quarter ended 30 September 2026 reports these figures for Reality Labs:
| Reality Labs | Q3 2026 | Q3 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $443 million | $470 million |
| Loss from operations | $4,129 million | $4,432 million |
The filing describes the segment as "our virtual and augmented reality related consumer hardware, software, and content". On the 21 October earnings call:
- CFO Susan Li said revenue fell 6% "due to lower Quest headset sales", while AI glasses revenue kept growing strongly.
- Li said Meta now expects Reality Labs losses for 2026 "to decline compared to 2025 to a range of $18 billion to $19 billion". She said losses should narrow next year to around $15 billion "as we reallocate investment towards other priority areas".
- Zuckerberg said Meta is "changing our approach to virtual reality to only ship new devices when we have major breakthroughs". He said it will pace that investment "to focus on delivering personal superintelligence first".
The words "metaverse" and "Horizon" did not appear in the call transcript.
How Meta scaled back during 2026
January: layoffs and studio closures
In January 2026, several outlets reported that Meta cut about 1,500 Reality Labs jobs, roughly 10% of the unit. Meta's spokesperson confirmed more than 1,000. Meta also closed three VR game studios: Twisted Pixel Games, Sanzaru Games and Armature Studio. The Supernatural fitness app stopped producing new content, and Workrooms, Meta's VR meeting product, was shut down. According to the reports, Meta said the savings would go to wearables.
February: Horizon Worlds goes mobile-first
On 19 February 2026, Meta said in a developer blog post that Horizon Worlds would become "almost exclusively mobile". Reality Labs content VP Samantha Ryan said "we're going all-in on mobile". She added that Meta still has "a robust roadmap of future VR headsets".
March: VR shutdown announced, then reversed
On 17 March 2026, Meta's community forums said Horizon Worlds would leave Quest headsets and move to web and mobile only on 15 June. Two days later, CTO Andrew Bosworth said on Instagram: "We have decided, just today in fact, that we will keep Horizon Worlds working in VR." Bosworth said mobile had the better fit: "There's a much bigger audience in mobile." Appfigures data cited by TechCrunch puts the mobile app at about 45 million downloads across iOS and Google Play, with about $1.1 million in consumer spending.
The total cost
Total losses are only available from press reports. TechCrunch put Reality Labs losses at about $73 billion since 2021, and at nearly $80 billion since 2020 when citing CNBC. Those totals come from the press, not from a Meta filing. The full-year 2021 loss, reported in February 2022, was $10.19 billion.
What Meta originally promised (2021)
In his founder's letter of 28 October 2021, Zuckerberg wrote: "Our hope is that within the next decade, the metaverse will reach a billion people". The letter also said it would host hundreds of billions of dollars of digital commerce. Meta said its focus would be "to bring the metaverse to life and help people connect, find communities and grow businesses."
Meta's work on VR started long before the rename. On 25 March 2014, Facebook agreed to buy Oculus VR for about $2 billion. That was $400 million in cash and 23.1 million Facebook shares, plus a $300 million earn-out.
How Meta scaled back its metaverse
Step through the dates from the 2021 rename to the 2026 cuts, and see what Meta has said comes next for Reality Labs.
- 28 Oct 2021Facebook renames itself Metadone
Zuckerberg makes the metaverse the company's focus. His founder's letter hopes it will reach a billion people within the next decade. It has no blockchain and no token.
- Jan 2026Layoffs and studio closuresdone
Reports say about 1,500 Reality Labs jobs were cut, roughly 10% of the unit. Meta's spokesperson confirmed more than 1,000. Three VR game studios closed and Workrooms was shut down.
- 19 Feb 2026Horizon Worlds goes mobile-firstdone
A Meta developer blog post says Horizon Worlds will become "almost exclusively mobile".
- 17 Mar 2026VR shutdown announced, then reverseddone
Meta's forums say Horizon Worlds will leave Quest headsets on 15 June. Two days later CTO Andrew Bosworth says it will keep working in VR.
- 21 Oct 2026Q3 results: $4.13 billion lossdone
Reality Labs lost $4,129 million on $443 million of revenue. Meta now expects $18–19 billion in losses for 2026 and will ship new VR devices only after major breakthroughs.
- Q4 2026 resultsFull-year loss checkexpected
Meta's Q4 results will show whether Reality Labs' full-year losses land in the $18–19 billion range.
- 2027Losses guided to narrowexpected
CFO Susan Li said losses should narrow to around $15 billion as Meta moves investment to other priority areas.
This shows only Meta's own steps as the article reports them: layoff counts come from press reports, the 2027 figure is Meta's guidance and not a result, and it does not cover Decentraland, The Sandbox or their token prices.
Is the Facebook metaverse on a blockchain?
No. Meta's own attempt at crypto was a separate project, and it is over:
- Libra, later Diem. Facebook announced the Libra stablecoin in 2019, and it was later renamed Diem. On 31 January 2022, Diem CEO Stuart Levey said that "it became clear from our dialogue with federal regulators that the project could not move ahead". The Diem Association sold its assets to Silvergate Capital. Press reports put the deal at $182 million.
- Novi wallet. Meta announced on 1 July 2022 that its Novi wallet would close on 1 September 2022. CNBC called it the last remnant of the Diem project. During its pilot Novi had used the Pax Dollar stablecoin, not Diem.
Nothing in Meta's 2026 filings or calls points to a token, a blockchain or user-owned assets in Horizon.
Meta's metaverse vs blockchain metaverses
| Meta (Horizon) | Decentraland, The Sandbox | |
|---|---|---|
| Who controls the platform | Meta | Smart contracts, plus DAO governance of some decisions |
| Assets | Accounts and items held by Meta | Land and items held as NFTs in users' wallets |
| Token | None | MANA, SAND |
| Chains | None | MANA: Ethereum, Polygon PoS. SAND: Ethereum, Polygon PoS, Base |
| Main access in 2026 | Mobile app, with VR kept | Browser or desktop client plus a crypto wallet |
The practical difference is who can change or remove what you hold. In Horizon, Meta decides. On a blockchain world, the NFT stays in your wallet even if the platform's operator stops supporting it. That does not guarantee that anyone will still use the world, or that the land will have any market value.
What the rebrand did to metaverse tokens
The Meta announcement set off a rally in metaverse tokens. In early November 2021, The Sandbox raised $93 million in a round led by SoftBank's Vision Fund 2. Reuters reported at the time that SAND had jumped more than 200% after the name change.
As of 25 October 2026, CoinGecko data shows:
- MANA: about $0.078, against an all-time high of $5.85, which is about 98.7% lower. Market cap is about $153 million.
- SAND: about $0.048, against an all-time high of $8.40, which is about 99.4% lower. Market cap is about $142 million.
CoinGecko also flags unusual minting activity for SAND on Base. The cause is not confirmed.
What to watch next
- Meta's Q4 2026 results. They will show whether full-year Reality Labs losses land in the $18–19 billion range.
- Whether Horizon Worlds stays in VR. Bosworth said the team is "having to build everything twice", once for mobile and once for VR.
- Meta's money moving to AI glasses. Both the January cuts and the October call pointed to glasses and AI.
- Activity on Decentraland and The Sandbox. Their user numbers and governance votes matter more than the Meta headlines did in 2021.
Limitations: the layoff counts, total losses and download numbers come from press reports, not from Meta's filings. Token prices are a snapshot from 25 October 2026.
