Zuckerberg’s unwavering faith in the potential of virtual worlds has led him to pledge billions of dollars towards their development, even in the face of slow progress.
As per Zuckerberg, the Reality Labs metaverse unit remains a key focus for the company, with long-term prospects that are highly promising. Nevertheless, he conceded that the company is continually tweaking its methods for creating virtual worlds. Whether these adjustments will significantly impact the final product remains to be seen.
Reality Labs has thus far been a significant drain on Meta’s finances, costing the company $13.7 billion in 2022 alone.
In Q4 2022, the company spent $4.3 billion on developing the metaverse, with Meta not expecting to see a return on investment until 2030.
Despite the massive investment in the metaverse, Meta’s immersive products have yet to live up to initial expectations.
The Quest Pro virtual reality helmet and Horizon Worlds metaverse both came under fire from journalists at The Verge for their shortcomings.
The helmet reportedly boasts 1800×1920 pixels per eye and has five internal and external cameras, but struggles to accurately track facial expressions and eye movements, resulting in half-closed eyes on 3D avatars.
Issues with the software are also apparent, with the Workrooms platform in Horizon Worlds experiencing technical glitches and lacking social media contact synchronization.
Moreover, journalists have criticized the quality of 3D avatars in Workrooms. Despite the criticism, Meta remains committed to spending up to 20% of its capital on metaverse development in 2023.