Facebook parent company Meta has struggled with its plans to create The Metaverse. Over the past year, billions have been lost every quarter in the project, and that’s only continuing.
Meta loses $2.8 billion in Metaverse development
In the company’s latest earnings report, it was revealed that even more billions have been lost on Zuckerberg’s Metaverse chase. The company, which has recently upped the prices of VR hardware, is still draining with losses.
On a revenue injection of $452 million, Meta’s Metaverse lost $2.8 billion. This figure marks a continued loss in value to Meta Reality Labs, as development costs on new hardware and software continue to drastically outweigh demand.
This substantial loss does fit with Meta‘s claim that it’s prepared to lose significant amounts on its Metaverse. With the tech giant still bringing in billions from other products, such as Instagram and Facebook, it is still a loss that it can take for now.
To put it in perspective, Meta as a whole earned $8.36 billion operating income alongside $28.82 billion total sales, a colossal amount of money. So, while the Metaverse losses are concerning for that industry, Meta as a whole is fine.
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Why is The Metaverse so expensive
One of the most concerning parts of Meta’s massive losses is just how expensive developing the virtual world is. It’s worth stating that Meta is not just creating a virtual platform, but also the next-gen hardware to support it.
In the next few years, Meta is planning to release both VR and AR technology. From augmented reality glasses to mixed reality headsets like Project Cambria, the company is working to revitalise reality tech.
It’s a strong goal, one that will prove to be more expensive as time goes on. However, if the Metaverse takes off, it will be worth the investment.