--- title: "Zuckerberg’s Metaverse Is Bleeding Billions of Dollars, Documents Reveal" description: "Two years into Mark Zuckerberg's metaverse pipe dream and there's not much to show for it, except for more than $25 billion in losses." date: "2023-10-26" modified: "2023-10-26" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/zuckerberg-metaverse-billions-losses" categories: - "Future Society" - "Metaverse" - "Virtual Reality" tags: - "mark zuckerberg" - "Meta" - "metaverse" - "the digest" --- # Zuckerberg’s Metaverse Is Bleeding Billions of Dollars, Documents Reveal ![Two years into Mark Zuckerberg's metaverse pipe dream and there's not much to show for it, except for more than $25 billion in losses.]() *\Image: Reality Labs / Futurism\* ## Losing It Almost exactly [two years ago](), CEO Mark Zuckerberg changed Facebook's name to "Meta" to signal a sea change in his metaverse-focused operational priorities — and in the ensuing years, there's arguably not much to show for it besides [bulky headsets](), [half-baked]() VR experiences, and [tens of billions]() of dollars in losses. And the losses keep piling up. In the [company's Q3 earnings report](), Meta reported a whopping $3.74 billion operating loss on its Reality Labs division, which has been tasked with building out Zuckerberg's vision of the metaverse. Paired with news from over the summer that the company had recorded a [$21.3 billion loss on Reality Labs]() since the start of 2022, Meta is clearly a long way away from turning a profit with a product that [most people have no interest in using](). Notably, the 600-person Reality Labs division was [subject to job cuts earlier in October](), and although we don't know exactly how many people got the axe, these headlines coming in the same month certainly spell trouble. ## Downhill Trend Though there have been some significant technological advances in recent months, including a demonstration of what [podcaster Lex Fridman]() referred to as "[the first interview in the metaverse]()," Zuckerberg's expensive virtual reality pipe dream has thus far proven to be exactly that. In September, for example, news dropped that Meta's Quest Pro VR headset, which [went on sale for an eye-bulging $1,500]() last year, was a party favor at a Roblox conference where attendees were [given the goggles *for free*](). And whether the company's latest headset, the $500 Quest 3, which *Wired* called "[an excellent portal to an empty metaverse]()," will fare any better remains to be seen. In the first quarter of 2023, news sites rushed to [publish obituaries]() to [the metaverse]() after Zuckerberg appeared to [switch his fealty to artificial intelligence](). Half a year later, it's unclear whether those obits were premature — for one, Zuckerberg is still committed to [giving his metaverse avatars legs]() for some reason. But given these cumulative losses, it does seem like his metaverse is dying a slow and expensive death. **More on Meta:** *[Facebook's AI-Powered Jane Austen Is Already Overrun by Spam]()* ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()