Meta has reportedly canceled its plans to create a high-end mixed-reality headset that would compete more directly with the Apple Vision Pro.
In a new report by The Information, the outlet claims that Meta informed employees to halt work on the device this week. The headset, known under its codename La Jolla, was supposed to be released in 2027. The Information notes that Meta canceled the headset because it uses MicroOLED displays, the same displays found on Vision Pro, which are quite pricey.
"[W]e have many prototypes in development at all times. But we don't bring all of them to production. We move forward with some, we pass on others," Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth wrote in a post on Threads. "Decisions like this happen all the time, and stories based on chatter about one individual decision will never give the real picture."
While Bosworth's post suggests that Meta is downplaying the cancellation of La Jolla, recent news for Meta's VR endeavors paints a bleak future for the headset. If it had been released, the device would have been pricey due to the inclusion of MicroOLED displays.
Meta also saw middling success with its previous high-end headset, the Quest Pro, which was released in 2022 for $1,500. It does not help the fact that the Vision Pro, the headset La Jolla would have been directly competing with, also struggled at launch, with its release to exclusively the United States, until a few months back, combined with its $3,500 price tag, among other things.
Meta has also been struggling in its Reality Labs division in various ways. Last week, Meta confirmed that work for a VR port of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas was put "on hold indefinitely." Additionally, the division had layoffs in June, with Reality Labs being restructured into two separate organizations: one focused on Wearables and another on the Metaverse.
Nevertheless, things do not look fully grim for Reality Labs VR and mixed-reality endeavors. A report from The Information published last month claimed that Meta plans to launch two versions of Quest 4 in 2026, internally known under the codenames "Pismo Low" and "Pismo High." Additionally, Meta's upcoming blockbuster game, Batman: Arkham Shadow, is slated to launch exclusively on Quest 3 in October.
Taylor is a Reporter at IGN. You can follow her on Twitter @TayNixster.
