The idea of an immersive, persistent, multi-user virtual reality is not exactly a new one and we've had several mature implementations over the years - VRChat, Second Life, in some sense most MMOs, etc.
Compared to that, all the impressions of the "Metaverse" that made some larger rounds in the press looked more like the prototype of a WiiFit knockoff. And that for 85B? Did they do some significant research/development in other problem areas that are less visible than the graphics? Or what was going on there?
Meta will shut down VR Horizon Worlds access June 15
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47427214
Meta Horizon Worlds on Meta Quest is being discontinued
I'm not sure what to conclude from this.
I think they took a boutique idea that had no legs and leaned into it because it also happened to be complementary to a strategy to escape the anti-trust heat.