Meta Portal, the virtual reality social platform previously known as Facebook Horizon, was discontinued on October 10, 2022. The closure of Meta Portal came as Meta shifts its focus and resources towards developing future virtual and augmented reality technologies.
What was Meta Portal?
Meta Portal was a virtual reality social platform developed by Meta (previously known as Facebook). It allowed users to explore virtual worlds, play games, attend events and communicate with others using VR avatars and hand interactions.
Meta Portal was first announced in 2019 under the name Facebook Horizon. It was envisioned as a new social VR space where people could connect, create and have fun together in virtual reality.
After going through invites-only beta testing, Meta Portal had its official launch in December 2020. At launch, it provided a few different spaces for users to explore, including a central plaza, private homes, an events space and gameplay areas.
Why did Meta decide to shut down Meta Portal?
In a statement announcing the closure, Meta cited the company’s shifting priorities and resources as the key reason behind the decision:
“We’re going to end support for Meta Portal on October 10, 2022 as we shift our focus to future products and technology. This was a difficult decision, but one we believe is the right one. We look forward to taking our learnings from Meta Portal to help guide the future of social connection in the metaverse.”
Essentially, Meta is moving resources away from Meta Portal and towards developing other technologies and products focused on the metaverse – an immersive virtual environment accessed through different devices and platforms.
Meta’s core priority right now is building out its idea of the metaverse and the required hardware, software, applications and ecosystem to support it. Meta Portal was an early prototype metaverse experience, but Meta likely sees more promise in focusing on future metaverse technologies instead of iteratively developing Meta Portal.
How popular was Meta Portal?
Meta Portal had a relatively small userbase compared to Meta’s massive social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram, which each have billions of users.
Exact user numbers were not disclosed by Meta, but based on invite-only access initially and gradual growth over 2 years, estimates put Meta Portal’s userbase in the hundreds of thousands or low millions. TechCrunch reported in April 2022 that documents indicated Meta Portal had around 300,000 monthly active users.
So while Meta Portal had seen some growth since launch and fostered an engaged community of users, it remained a very niche platform compared to Meta’s mainstream social apps.
How does this fit into Meta’s overall metaverse plans?
Meta Portal represents just one early component of Meta’s broader metaverse strategy. Even as it shuts down this VR platform, Meta remains heavily invested in developing metaverse technologies.
Other key parts of Meta’s metaverse plan include:
- VR/AR hardware like Oculus Quest headsets
- VR social platforms like Horizon Worlds
- Augmented reality research and smart glasses development
- Social apps optimized for metaverse experiences
- Digital avatars, identities and digital goods
- Metaverse creator economy incentives and ecosystems
Meta Portal provided an initial playground to start exploring the social dynamics and applications of virtual worlds. Many of the lessons and technology foundations from Meta Portal will likely carry over to Meta’s other metaverse initiatives. But Meta ultimately saw more potential in focusing on the next generation of VR/AR hardware and metaverse software compared to continuing work on Meta Portal.
How does the closure impact current Meta Portal users?
Meta gave Meta Portal users a 6-month notice period before officially discontinuing service on October 10, 2022. This gave regular Portal users time to explore any final parts of the platform they wanted to see.
Unfortunately, users will no longer have access to their Meta Portal avatars, purchases or creations after the closure date. All of that content was exclusive to the Meta Portal platform. Meta did not provide a way to export or backup that unique data.
The closure is understandably disappointing to dedicated Meta Portal users who invested significant time into building up their avatars, virtual homes and in-world creations. But most users seemed to understand Meta’s rationale given Portal’s niche status and Meta’s focus on future metaverse goals.
Could Meta Portal return in the future?
Meta has given no indication that Meta Portal will return or be relaunched in the future. While not impossible, the complete service shutdown likely signals Meta has no short-term plans to revive the platform.
Meta Portal represented an early prototype metaverse experience that helped Meta start exploring virtual social dynamics and VR world-building.
It’s more likely that any future Meta metaverse platforms will be entirely new offerings rather than a relaunch of Meta Portal. Lessons from Portal may carry over, but the focus seems to be leveraging that knowledge towards new metaverse services.
New platforms like Horizon Worlds provide more updated metaverse environments customized for Meta’s latest VR devices and partnerships. Meta seems focused on iterating new metaverse offerings rather than reviving past ones.
What does this mean for the overall VR/metaverse industry?
The discontinuation of Meta Portal doesn’t have major implications for the broader VR and metaverse industries:
- Other tech giants like Microsoft and Apple still have major VR/AR initiatives.
- Many startups are building out various components of metaverse ecosystems.
- Investor interest remains high for metaverse-related technologies.
Meta Portal had a relatively small niche userbase within overall VR usage. Its closure doesn’t diminish the momentum and interest in VR, AR and potential consumer metaverse services.
Meta itself also remains highly invested in future metaverse tech even as it shutters this initial offering. Meta Portal is essentially being succeeded by Meta’s other metaverse platforms and hardware products focused on the next generation of virtual experiences.
Could Meta Portal’s fate dissuade other companies from investing in metaverses?
It’s unlikely Meta Portal’s shutdown will deter other tech companies’ interest in metaverse development. Some key reasons why:
- Meta Portal remained a niche platform that didn’t have mass market success.
- Other companies see wider potential in metaverse tech than Meta’s initial offerings.
- The learnings from Meta Portal can guide future developers.
- Big tech firms like Microsoft and Apple still view the metaverse as the next major computing platform.
Meta Portal represents just one early experiment in consumer metaverse experiences. Its relatively small userbase limits how much can be extrapolated from its closure.
If anything, Meta Portal provides baseline knowledge on early metaverse use cases and engagement that can help refine future platforms. The learnings are arguably just as valuable as the discontinued platform itself.
With major tech companies still investing billions into metaverse development, it seems unlikely Meta Portal’s sunset will change that macro trend within the industry.
Conclusion
Meta Portal was discontinued as Meta shifts focus and resources towards developing future metaverse hardware and software. The platform remained niche, highlighting the early stages of consumer metaverse technology.
While Meta Portal itself is shutting down, Meta and the tech industry broadly remain committed to realizing the full potential of the metaverse in the coming years. The knowledge gained from early platforms like Portal will help refine the next generation of immersive and interconnected virtual services.