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It seems that Meta and LG’s XR (extended reality) headset project is facing struggles. The possibility of collaboration between both companies emerged last year. Later, at the end of February of this year, it was officially announced. However, recent reports suggest that the results could take much longer than expected to arrive, or even never come to light.
Multiple South Korean outlets recently reported the alleged breakdown of the collaboration between Meta and LG. LG denied this, saying the partnership remains in place. However, the company added in its statement that it is “controlling its pace.” It was expected that the first products of this association would reach the market starting next year.
Meta and LG’s XR headset development faces challenges
The current situation is surrounded by secrecy and confusion, with reports pointing out different possibilities. For example, the Korean news outlets that ensure the breakdown of the agreement add that LG would be looking for a new partnership for a headset, but with Amazon. In this way, the final product would benefit from the large catalog of multimedia content available in the Prime Video service.
On the other hand, Seoul Economic Daily points out that, although the collaboration between LG and Meta is still ongoing, its first product would have been delayed until 2027. This is in line with what LG said publicly about controlling the pace of the project. Perhaps the company saw the initially proposed launch period (2025) as a bit rushed.
Meta’s entire Reality Labs division is currently a money drain
While Meta and LG’s XR headset development is apparently facing some struggles, Meta has a bigger problem. As reported by GamesIndustry.biz, the entire Reality Labs division has only suffered losses since its creation. More specifically, this division has cost a billion dollars monthly from June 2022 until today.
However, Meta states that these results are expected. It even points out that it is possible that losses will increase significantly in the coming years. This is due to the high investment they are making in the segment. Meanwhile, VR headsets do not seem to have finished capturing the public’s attention. Bloomberg notes that Sony’s PSVR 2 has a lot of unsold stock. Plus, the Apple Vision Pro is selling only 2 units per week in some stores.