Meta announced in January it was\u00a0working on a home theater environment for Horizon OS, which would let Quest users view content on a massive screen in a proper theater setting. Now, a leaked prototype of the environment shows that it\u2019s focusing on multiplayer too, making it look a bit like VR\u2019s most popular shared viewing app,\u00a0Bigscreen.<\/p>\n
Quest already has a few fragmented theater-style features, although no single first-party app that lets you easily invite friends to watch things socially. Meta has made a number of attempts over the years, but so far nothing has really stuck.<\/p>\n
Two months prior to leaving Meta though, Mark Rabkin,\u00a0then-VP of Horizon OS and Quest, announced his team was working on the long-requested cinema environment<\/a>, and experimenting with things such as lighting, effects and immersive sound.<\/p>\n At the time, it was uncertain just how far the company was hoping to go to bridge the gap between the platform\u2019s single-player \u2018Theater View\u2019 feature and its Horizon Worlds shared livestreams, which includes things like concerts, comedy, and sports. We may have a partial answer to that now.<\/p>\n Now, X user \u2018lukegotbored<\/a>\u2018 (via \u2018Luna<\/a>\u2018) has reportedly \u201caccidentally\u201d accessed a work-in-progress theater environment on Quest, suggesting Meta is replicating at least some of the functionality of VR\u2019s most popular social viewing app,\u00a0Bigscreen.<\/p>\n My pal @lukegotbored<\/a> accidently got access to another Meta internal build.<\/p>\n Looks like Meta is working on a virtual theater environment, and it seems to built on top of the upcoming Horizon Worlds\/Home \u20182.0\u2019 overhaul, with the ability to invite users etc. This is still very WIP. https:\/\/t.co\/957vpe4h9i<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/PwJKUBZCnH<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Luna (@Lunayian) July 1, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Luna, who also recently leaked Meta\u2019s next smart glasses<\/a>, suggests the feature could arrive in\u00a0Horizon Worlds\u00a0next big update, noting that the multiplayer space allows you to invite other users. In the video, we see two users switching through multiple seats in a sci-fi style auditorium and watching a Hot Ones interview.<\/p>\n It remains to be seen though whether Meta can actually replicate Bigscreen\u2019s\u00a0most popular feature. Bigscreen not only lets you socially watch a variety of streaming channels from services like Pluto TV,\u00a0but also mirror your own content so other can watch too. At least for Meta, that last one may be a bit of a stretch.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Letting users stream their own content at scale could raise major legal and technical challenges for Meta, especially around content licensing, which Bigscreen has navigated in some clever ways.<\/p>\n Notably, Bigscreen\u00a0doesn\u2019t actively stream unlicensed content, although it also doesn\u2019t exactly stop users from doing so. You won\u2019t find an army of ghostly moderators shutting down hosted rooms like Meta does in Horizon Worlds<\/a>, essentially allowing users to freely stream any movie, TV show, or live sports game.<\/p>\n Bigscreen can do this because it puts the onus on the individual user to comply with content laws, leaving its app essentially in the clear\u2014something Meta may not be so ready to commit to.<\/p>\n And although there\u2019s no telling how big\u00a0Meta\u2019s theater will truly be, offering that basic social viewing functionality on top of Horizon Worlds\u00a0will undoubtedly be focused on boosting player retention, as users won\u2019t need to install an additional app, or leave Horizon Worlds to have watch parties.<\/p>\n Granted, this wouldn\u2019t be the first time Meta replicated third-party app functionality. Virtual Desktop, created by Guy Godin, helped pioneer PC-to-VR mirroring following its initial launch on Rift in 2016. Much of its functionality was gradually replicated by Meta over the years, baking them into system-wide functions on Rift.<\/p>\n What\u2019s more, in early 2021, Meta initially rejected\u00a0Virtual Desktop on Quest<\/a> due to its included wireless streaming feature, which allowed users play PC VR games over WiFi. Weeks later, Meta reversed course and approved it for the Horizon Store, but only after releasing its own version, Air Link.<\/p>\n \u2013 \u2013 \u2014 \u2013 \u2013<\/p>\n Meta\u2019s next big event is Connect 2025, which is set to kick off on September 17th, 2025, where we could possibly learn more.\u00a0We\u2019ll have our eyes peeled for more information in the meantime, so check back soon.<\/strong><\/p>\n \n