Palmer Luckey: Meta Isn't Abandoning VR, Studio Closures "A Good Thing"

Last week, Meta made headlines by shutting down three of its acquired VR game studios – Twisted Pixel Games (Deadpool VR), Sanzaru Games (Asgard's Wrath), and Armature Studio (Resident Evil 4 VR) – and conducting significant layoffs at a fourth: Camouflaj (Batman: Arkham Shadow). The closures are part of Meta's wider strategy of shifting investment from the Metaverse to AI glasses and wearables. The layoffs have affected around 10% of Meta's Reality Labs division, approximately 1,500 people.

The "Meta is Abandoning VR" Narrative is "Obviously False"

Oculus founder Palmer Luckey doesn't agree with the narrative that Meta is abandoning VR. In a post on X, Luckey argued that last week's events were "not a disaster." He pointed out that Meta still employs more people working on VR than any other company "by about an order of magnitude." Luckey further explained that the "Meta is abandoning VR" narrative is "obviously false," as 10% layoffs is basically six months of normal churn concentrated into 60 days, strictly numbers-wise.

The Majority of Jobs Cut Were Roles Working on First-Party Content

Luckey noted that the majority of the 1,500 jobs cut in Reality Labs (out of 15,000) were roles working on first-party content, internally developed games that competed directly with third-party developers. He thinks this is a good decision, and he thought the same back when he was still at Oculus. Luckey believes that heavily subsidizing internal development at the expense of core technical progress and platform stability doesn't make sense.

Crowding Out the Rest of the Ecosystem

Luckey further explained that crowding out the rest of the entire ecosystem, even less so. Every developer big and small, even the hyper-efficient ones, have had an extremely hard time competing with games developed by Meta-owned teams with budgets and teams that spend vastly in excess of earning potential. People will point out that these teams did an awesome job and got awesome reviews from critics and customers alike – yes, and fucked up though it is, that makes the problem even worse!

The Problem of Over-Subsidization

Luckey agrees that sometimes you learn what the world actually wants from you the hard way. He pointed out that Oculus expected to only sell 700 copies of Rock Band VR after spending eight figures to make sure it was ready and awesome for Rift CV1 launch, to the point of bundling the guitar adapter with every single headset. This is an example of over-subsidization, where the cost of development is higher than the potential revenue.

Anduril Partners with Meta to Build Military XR Devices

Palmer Luckey's Anduril is teaming up with Meta to build XR products for US and allied militaries, starting with the EagleEye AR/VR helmet. Anduril is a defense firm that makes and sells drones, loitering munitions, interceptors, cruise missiles, sentry towers, and even unmanned submarines, as well as a software system that integrates them and other assets into a unified view of the battlespace. It was most recently valued at over $30 billion.

The People Acting Like Luckey is a Stooge Need to Read a History Book

Luckey suggests that the people acting like he is some stooge who will obviously agree with everything Meta does need to read a history book. Oculus had a strong internal mandate to NOT be Nintendo and instead build things that build the ecosystem. Returning to that is good.

Conclusion

The studio closures and layoffs at Meta are a significant event in the VR industry. However, as Palmer Luckey pointed out, the "Meta is abandoning VR" narrative is "obviously false." The majority of the jobs cut were roles working on first-party content, and Luckey thinks this is a good decision. He believes that heavily subsidizing internal development at the expense of core technical progress and platform stability doesn't make sense.ptron

Source: https://www.uploadvr.com/palmer-luckey-meta-isnt-abandoning-vr-studio-closures-a-good-thing/