{"id":299901,"date":"2026-01-23T18:18:11","date_gmt":"2026-01-23T18:18:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/299901\/"},"modified":"2026-01-23T18:18:11","modified_gmt":"2026-01-23T18:18:11","slug":"i-can-tell-you-personally-that-we-are-not-getting-out-of-vr-says-meta-developer-advocate-just-one-week-after-the-brand-laid-off-more-than-1000-reality-labs-employees","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/299901\/","title":{"rendered":"“I can tell you personally that we are not getting out of VR,” says Meta Developer Advocate just one week after the brand laid off more than 1,000 Reality Labs employees"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last week, Meta issued mass layoffs to its mixed reality workforce. Its three biggest VR game dev studios, the creators of Asgard’s Wrath, Deadpool VR, and The Walking Dead 4 VR, were all disbanded, while wider Reality Labs employees lost their jobs. This led many onlookers to worry that, thanks to the Metaverse’s failure, the brand’s best VR headsets<\/a> will now receive limited ongoing support.<\/p>\n

Amidst all of this news, we’ve had a lack of official communication from Meta about where its VR ambitions lie from here on out. One employee, however, has broken silence on Twitter (X), which might hint at the future development of software for the Quest 3 devices.<\/p>\n

\n

Matt, I can tell you personally that we are not getting out of VR \ud83d\ude09 I\u2019ve been assigned to a team that is fully focused on VR programs and education. Hopefully, this helps answer your question. https:\/\/t.co\/ZXjLgiWr89January 20, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

<\/p>\n

Replying to a VR content creator who had pointed out the lack of comms from Meta, Dilmer Valecillos, Developer Advocate for the company, said, “I can tell you personally that we are not getting out of VR. I\u2019ve been assigned to a team that is fully focused on VR programs and education.”<\/p>\n

You may like<\/p>\n

Replying to a response that asked for more clarification on the statement above, he continued by saying, “I can\u2019t speak to broader strategy, but my role and team are fully focused on VR. I genuinely love VR and wouldn\u2019t be doing this work if I didn\u2019t believe in its future.”<\/p>\n

\n

\"Screenshot\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Oculus)<\/p>\n

It’s hard to read past the winking emojis used in these brief exchanges. Is this a Meta employee in the know, hinting at something we don’t know, or is this someone talking about a very small part of the wider Reality Labs workforce that doesn’t apply to the VR gaming landscape? By his own admission, Valecillos can’t actually speak to the broader strategy at the company.<\/p>\n

When another reply asked if the ongoing development his team is doing involves games, Dilmer responded “Games and apps” with another winking face emoji.<\/p>\n

It’s worth noting that the “education” projects he’s referring to could come under the umbrella of “gamified” experiences. This is becoming a more common use of VR headset tech, particularly by brands like HTC, which specialize more in enterprise headset uses for experiential events and training rather than consumer markets and gaming.<\/p>\n

Weekly digests, tales from the communities you love, and more<\/p>\n

\n

\"A\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Valve)<\/p>\n

Personally, I’d take these Twitter responses with a pinch of salt and not read into them as anything official. With Meta issuing that many layoffs within its VR workforce, and shuttering arguably its biggest and most beneficial game dev studios, I think we can expect less support for us gamers on the official Meta Quest store with exclusive games.<\/p>\n

It certainly seems as though Zuckerberg’s company will be pivoting toward AI as 2026 continues. By all reports, the social media giant’s collaboration with Ray-Ban to make smart glasses has been successful, so this could be the renewed focus of what’s left of the Reality Labs workforce.<\/p>\n

Meta’s recent behaviour towards VR does tee up Valve<\/a> to score somewhat of an open goal with its imminent Steam Frame<\/a> though. Meta’s standalone Quest 3 and 3S are arguably Valve’s biggest mainstream competition at the moment, so it’ll be interesting to see how the market plays out this year. Samsung also stands to gain from Meta pulling back from VR, since its Galaxy XR headset has recently hit the shelves and serves a similar purpose to the Apple Vision Pro and Meta’s Quest devices.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Today’s best VR headset deals<\/p>\n

For more, read up on the best Meta Quest accessories<\/a>, the best gaming PC<\/a>, and the best gaming PCs in the UK<\/a>.<\/p>\n