Neowin News Feed for: Metaverse

Meta pulls back on its metaverse dreams with deep budget cuts

Karthik Mudaliar — Thu, 04 Dec 2025 16:04:01 +0000

Meta is preparing deep cuts to its metaverse budget, as the company reprioritizes towards artificial intelligence. Read more...

Unity games are coming to Fortnite in a historic partnership with Epic Games

Karthik Mudaliar — Wed, 19 Nov 2025 14:34:01 +0000

Epic Games and Unity have unveiled a historic partnership, allowing Unity-made games to be published within Fortnite and introducing Unreal Engine support to Unity's commerce tools. Read more...

Live Portraits with user-customizable avatars are now in testing for Microsoft Copilot

David Uzondu — Mon, 02 Jun 2025 07:06:01 +0000

Microsoft has been spotted testing a new Copilot feature that lets users choose avatars, giving a face to its voice-based interactions. Read more...

Last Chance: Enterprise Transformation to AI and the Metaverse ($59.99 Value) eBook

Sponsored — Wed, 15 May 2024 19:00:03 +0000

The arrival of the metaverse will likely lead to one of the most disruptive eras in modern history. This book provides guidance on how organizations can respond effectively. Claim it for free now. Read more...

Navigating Microsoft's AI Frontier: Unveiling tech giant's path with caution and critique

Fiza Ali — Sun, 28 May 2023 19:08:01 +0000

From leveraging AI in its productivity suite to exploring the possibilities of techno-humanism, Microsoft continues venturing into the AI era as it embraces its power in its products and services. Read more...

Metaverse reported to contribute up to 2.4% of US GDP by 2035

Steve Bennett — Wed, 10 May 2023 09:30:01 +0000

A study commissioned by Meta has found that the metaverse could contribute up to $760 billion, or 2.4% of the US GDP by 2035, covering sectors such as augmented and virtual reality technologies. Read more...

Child safety groups urge Meta to halt metaverse rollout to minors

Usama Jawad — Fri, 14 Apr 2023 16:26:01 +0000

Child safety advocates have written a letter to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, asking him to stop plans to make his metaverse, Horizon Worlds, open to younger audiences, or risk losing their trust again. Read more...

Avatars for Microsoft Teams are coming in May

Usama Jawad — Tue, 14 Mar 2023 06:24:01 +0000

It seems that Avatars for Microsoft Teams will hit general availability in May 2023. Powered by the Microsoft Mesh MR platform, these personalized creations will allow you to take camera breaks. Read more...

Report: Meta is laying off thousands of employees in a few days

Usama Jawad — Tue, 07 Mar 2023 07:56:01 +0000

In order to make 2023 a "year of efficiency", Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is looking to lay off thousands of employees, potentially within the next week or so, in order to meet financial targets. Read more...

US Senators tell Mark Zuckerberg to keep teens out of Meta's Horizon Worlds

Anushe Fawaz — Thu, 02 Mar 2023 19:14:02 +0000

US senators have shared their concerns about opening access of young adults to Meta's virtual reality space Horizon Worlds, which puts them at risk of potential harm and privacy issues. Read more...

Meta's "iPhone moment" for its AR devices will happen in 2027 according to its AR roadmap

Karthik Mudaliar — Wed, 01 Mar 2023 07:14:01 +0000

Meta has revealed its AR products roadmap for the next four years, during which the company will finally launch the much-awaited AR glasses that could potentially be the successor of smartphones. Read more...

Spotify is next to jump on the NFT bandwagon, adding NFT-enabled playlists

Steve Bennett — Thu, 23 Feb 2023 22:12:01 +0000

Spotify has launched a partnership with Kingship, who are a metaverse band signed to Universal Music Group (UMG), which allows for playlists that can be unlocked through NFTs in certain regions. Read more...

Microsoft: Despite what rumors may suggest, we are committed to HoloLens 2 and MR

Usama Jawad — Fri, 03 Feb 2023 06:32:01 +0000

Microsoft recently emphasized that it is fully committed to the HoloLens 2 and mixed reality (MR) space, despite recent events such as the laying off of the entire MRTK team suggesting otherwise. Read more...

WhatsApp users can now express themselves with avatars

Paul Hill — Wed, 07 Dec 2022 10:48:01 +0000

WhatsApp now has avatars that can serve as your profile picture. Your avatar can also be used in 36 expressive stickers that you can send to friends and family. The update rolls out today. Read more...

Meta is upgrading its networks with PTP time sync protocol

Anushe Fawaz — Mon, 21 Nov 2022 18:52:02 +0000

Meta announced a network timing protocol for its data centers powering its technologies, Precision Time Protocol. The company claims that PTP protocol can sync time down to nanoseconds. Read more...

Despite the naysayers, the metaverse is going to disrupt retail, says research group

Paul Hill — Mon, 07 Nov 2022 22:46:01 +0000

Info-Tech Research Group has said the metaverse will likely disrupt the retail sector in a big way in the years to come. It found that retailers, however, found it difficult to know where to start. Read more...

Meta will announce layoffs for thousands of employees this week

Usama Jawad — Mon, 07 Nov 2022 05:54:01 +0000

According to a recent report, Meta will announce layoffs this week. The move will impact thousands of employees and will be the biggest headcount reduction among big tech companies this year. Read more...

Meta falls out of top 20 U.S. companies after its stock price declines 23%

Paul Hill — Thu, 27 Oct 2022 18:00:01 +0000

Meta has fallen out of the top 20 U.S. companies after its stock price crashed by 23%. It comes as investors cast doubts on Meta's metaverse investments while the company reports lower earnings. Read more...

Long term Meta shareholder wants company to cut workforce by a fifth and become focused

Paul Hill — Mon, 24 Oct 2022 17:50:01 +0000

Altimeter Capital, a long time investor of Meta, has suggested that the social media firm cut a fifth of its workforce and limit spending on the metaverse to increase its free cash flow. Read more...

Meta teams up with Microsoft and Accenture to bring workspaces to Metaverse

Anushe Fawaz — Tue, 11 Oct 2022 19:34:01 +0000

At the Meta Connect 2022, Meta unveiled its VR headset: Meta Quest Pro. It also mentioned collaboration with Microsoft and Accenture to transform and connect workspaces with the Metaverse. Read more...

Meta unveils enterprise-focused Quest Pro VR headset that costs $1,500

Pulasthi Ariyasinghe — Tue, 11 Oct 2022 18:44:01 +0000

Meta today unveiled its latest all-in-one virtual reality headset, one that's focused on the enterprise market. The Meta Quest Pro has more powerful hardware, mixed reality support, and much more. Read more...

Meta: Employees should make it their mission to fall in love with metaverse project

Usama Jawad — Fri, 07 Oct 2022 05:08:01 +0000

Leaked Meta memos have indicated that the company isn't too happy with the progress and feedback of the Horizon Worlds metaverse and is considering forcing employees to use and love the project. Read more...

Meta plans to host Meta Connect on October 11

Anushe Fawaz — Tue, 06 Sep 2022 18:36:01 +0000

Meta has announced the official date for the annual company event called Meta Connect. The one-day event will be on October 11 where the company plans to disclose new products and upcoming features. Read more...

The next Meta VR headset will be available from October

Steve Bennett — Fri, 26 Aug 2022 18:16:01 +0000

During an interview on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast, Mark Zuckerberg confirmed that the next VR headset from Meta will be announced at Meta's Connect conference in October. Read more...

Meta is being sued by META for “stealing” the brand name

Paul Hill — Tue, 26 Jul 2022 03:32:01 +0000

Meta is being sued by META for infringing on its brand name. The two companies had previously been negotiating, but Meta has so far refused to come to the table to settle the matter. Read more...

Meta is removing the need for Facebook accounts to use its VR headsets

Pulasthi Ariyasinghe — Thu, 07 Jul 2022 20:26:01 +0000

Meta virtual reality headset owners soon won't have to be linked to a Facebook account when using their hardware. Meta accounts and Meta Horizon profiles are replacing the old system. Read more...

No Language Left Behind: Meta's new AI model can translate 200 languages

Usama Jawad — Thu, 07 Jul 2022 07:44:01 +0000

Meta has built an language model that translates across 200 languages better than the competition at an average of 44%. It has up to 54.5 billion parameters and has been open-sourced on GitHub. Read more...

HTC Desire 22 is a mid-range Android smartphone 'built for the metaverse'

Alap Naik Desai — Tue, 28 Jun 2022 22:16:02 +0000

The HTC Desire 22 is a mid-range Android smartphone that is supposed to act as a bridge to the metaverse via the Vive Flow headset. It is priced at £399.00 on the official website of the company. Read more...

Facebook Pay becomes Meta Pay but not much is changing

Paul Hill — Thu, 23 Jun 2022 22:56:02 +0000

Facebook Pay has been rebranded as Meta Pay. The company said nothing is changing about the service right now except its name. The rebranding will first occur in the United States, then globally. Read more...

Meta, Microsoft, Sony form Metaverse Standards Forum, Apple nowhere to be seen

Usama Jawad — Wed, 22 Jun 2022 15:26:01 +0000

Multiple big firms including Meta, Microsoft, Epic Games, and Sony have joined hands to form the Metaverse Standards Forum to build upon spatial technology standards. Apple is suspiciously absent. Read more...

You'll soon be able to customize your avatars using Meta's digital store

Anushe Fawaz — Sat, 18 Jun 2022 14:56:02 +0000

Mark Zuckerberg has announced a digital clothing store for Meta users to dress their avatars with branded clothing. Creative individuals will now be able to buy and sell personalized outfits too. Read more...

Meta has reportedly paused development of its Apple Watch rival

Usama Jawad — Fri, 10 Jun 2022 08:36:01 +0000

Meta has seemingly paused development on its Apple Watch rival. A prototype of the hardware featured one camera on the front and another on the back, but the latter reportedly interfered with sensors. Read more...

You can soon experience the metaverse in Meta's upcoming physical retail store

Karthik Mudaliar — Mon, 25 Apr 2022 16:20:01 +0000

Meta is coming up with its first ever retail store on May 9 in its campus in Burlingame, California. Customers can get familiar with Meta's vision of the metaverse and also play with their hardware. Read more...

Microsoft Weekly: Windows updates, malware on the rise, and living on the Edge

Usama Jawad — Sat, 16 Apr 2022 17:16:01 +0000

In our latest recap for the Microsoft-verse, we have lots of stuff to talk about including tons of Windows updates, recent cybersecurity incidents, and some useful features being added to Edge. Read more...

Horizon Worlds metaverse getting a web version with low commissions charged

Alap Naik Desai — Thu, 14 Apr 2022 23:12:01 +0000

The Horizon Worlds metaverse will have a web version, which means any desktop, laptop, smartphone, and gaming console with a web browser could access the same, and it will have a lower "Meta Toll". Read more...

Turns out teens aren't interested in the metaverse either

Usama Jawad — Thu, 14 Apr 2022 17:48:01 +0000

A couple of new reports citing surveys have revealed that teens aren't super-interested in the metaverse with less than half of all respondents showing an interest in purchasing associated hardware. Read more...

Selling in the Metaverse will cost developers 47.5% as 'Meta Toll', dwarfing 30% 'Apple Tax'

Alap Naik Desai — Wed, 13 Apr 2022 21:24:01 +0000

Meta is planning on charging developers as much as 47.5% commission on sales of all virtual items in the New Horizons metaverse, which is way higher than the 30% Apple Tax that Facebook had opposed. Read more...

Meta expands Horizon Worlds monetisation with saleable virtual items and creator bonuses

Paul Hill — Tue, 12 Apr 2022 06:32:01 +0000

Meta has outlined two new ways that creators on the platform can earn an income. The first is the ability to sell in-world items such as accessories, and the second is creator bonuses. Read more...

Epic Games gets $2 billion from Sony and Lego's parent company for building the metaverse

Karthik Mudaliar — Mon, 11 Apr 2022 18:20:02 +0000

Sony and Kirkbi have invested $1 billion each into Epic Games for helping it build the metaverse, while also supporting the company's continued growth. Epic Games has also recently partnered with Lego Read more...

Get this 2022 Metaverse & AR Developer Bundle for just $29

Neowin Deals — Thu, 10 Mar 2022 18:00:01 +0000

Immerse yourself in the 3D virtual world with 10 hours of content on Metaverse, XR interaction toolkit, VR pointers, AR game development, and more, or check out the hundreds of other deals! Read more...