What happened
Meta is halting new content for its popular VR fitness app, Supernatural, as part of a major Reality Labs restructuring. This shift, involving significant layoffs and studio closures, prioritizes AI-powered wearables over the Metaverse. The move signals Meta's pivot towards more sustainable, profitable business...
Stephen JohnsonStephen JohnsonSenior Staff WriterExperienceStephen Johnson is Senior Staff Writer for Lifehacker where he covers pop culture, including two weekly columns “The Out of Touch Adults’ Guide to Kid Culture” and “What People are Getting Wrong this Week," and technology. He graduated from Emerson College with a BFA in Writing, Literature, and Publishing.
Previously, Stephen was Managing Editor at NBC/Universal’s G4TV. While at G4, he won a Telly Award for writing and was nominated for a Webby award. Stephen has also written for Blumhouse, FearNET, Performing Songwriter magazine, NewEgg, AVN, GameFly, Art Connoisseur International magazine, Fender Musical Instruments, Hustler Magazine, and other outlets.
His work has aired on Comedy Central and screened at the Sundance International Film Festival, Palm Springs International Film Festival, and Chicago Horror Film Festival. He lives in Los Angeles, CA.Read Full BioJanuary 15, 2026Add as a preferred source on GoogleAdd as a preferred source on GoogleWe may earn a commission from links on this page.
Credit: MetaKey Takeaways• Meta has stopped developing new content and features for its acclaimed Supernatural VR fitness app, even as the service remains online for existing subscribers.• The decision comes despite Supernatural’s strong critical reception, awards, and an estimated $400 million acquisition cost.
• Supernatural’s wind-down is part of Meta’s broader retreat from VR.Table of Contents---Users of Supernatural got an unpleasant surprise this week: Meta has pulled the plug on its flagship virtual reality fitness app. Citing "organizational changes," Meta says it will no longer release new content or update features for Supernatural.
The app is not shutting down completely however. Subscribers can still access Supernatural's existing library of Beat Saber-workouts, and Meta says it will maintain the platform and Facebook page, but no new workouts, features, or other content is planned.Both users and critics have nearly universally praised Supernatural—CNet scored it 9 out of 10, it won both Fast Company's Best App award in 2020 and a Webby in 2023, and boasted celebrity tie-ins with Jane Fonda and Bon Jovi.
Meta doesn't publish subscriber numbers for Supernatural, but there are over 110,000 members of Supernatural's Facebook community. Not enough, apparently, to warrant keeping the app going.In 2021, Meta spent an estimated $400 million to purchase Within, Supernatural's developer, even battling the FTC to make the deal, and the app was a heavily promoted part of the company's overall "Metaverse" strategy.
0;}} catch (e) {console.warn('Failed to fetch comment count:', e);}}}" x-init="fetchCommentsCount()" x-cloak="">What do you think so far?The shuttering of Supernatural is part of a larger shift at Meta. This week, the company laid off 1,500 people—about 10% of the staff—from Reality Labs, Meta's hardware and virtual reality division.
“We said last month that we were shifting some of our investment from Metaverse toward Wearables. This is part of that effort,” a Meta spokesman told The Wall Street Journal.Along with cuts at Supernatural, Meta is closing three studios behind some of the most prominent, high-end VR games: Armature, who brought Resident Evil 4 to VR, Sanzaru, the studio behind Asgard’s Wrath, and Twisted Pixel, creators of Deadpool VR.
The Download NewsletterNever miss a tech storyGet the latest tech news, reviews, and advice from Jake and the team.
Source coverage
<thoughtI've been following the developments surrounding Meta's VR fitness initiatives, and this news about Supernatural has caught my attention. It seems that Meta is making some significant strategic shifts, and I need to fully grasp the implications.
Here's my analysis of the news article:
Deeper analysis
Full source content
Stephen JohnsonStephen JohnsonSenior Staff WriterExperienceStephen Johnson is Senior Staff Writer for Lifehacker where he covers pop culture, including two weekly columns “The Out of Touch Adults’ Guide to Kid Culture” and “What People are Getting Wrong this Week," and technology. He graduated from Emerson College with a BFA in Writing, Literature, and Publishing.
Previously, Stephen was Managing Editor at NBC/Universal’s G4TV. While at G4, he won a Telly Award for writing and was nominated for a Webby award. Stephen has also written for Blumhouse, FearNET, Performing Songwriter magazine, NewEgg, AVN, GameFly, Art Connoisseur International magazine, Fender Musical Instruments, Hustler Magazine, and other outlets.
His work has aired on Comedy Central and screened at the Sundance International Film Festival, Palm Springs International Film Festival, and Chicago Horror Film Festival. He lives in Los Angeles, CA.Read Full BioJanuary 15, 2026Add as a preferred source on GoogleAdd as a preferred source on GoogleWe may earn a commission from links on this page.
Credit: MetaKey Takeaways• Meta has stopped developing new content and features for its acclaimed Supernatural VR fitness app, even as the service remains online for existing subscribers.• The decision comes despite Supernatural’s strong critical reception, awards, and an estimated $400 million acquisition cost.
• Supernatural’s wind-down is part of Meta’s broader retreat from VR.Table of Contents---Users of Supernatural got an unpleasant surprise this week: Meta has pulled the plug on its flagship virtual reality fitness app. Citing "organizational changes," Meta says it will no longer release new content or update features for Supernatural.
The app is not shutting down completely however. Subscribers can still access Supernatural's existing library of Beat Saber-workouts, and Meta says it will maintain the platform and Facebook page, but no new workouts, features, or other content is planned.Both users and critics have nearly universally praised Supernatural—CNet scored it 9 out of 10, it won both Fast Company's Best App award in 2020 and a Webby in 2023, and boasted celebrity tie-ins with Jane Fonda and Bon Jovi.
Meta doesn't publish subscriber numbers for Supernatural, but there are over 110,000 members of Supernatural's Facebook community. Not enough, apparently, to warrant keeping the app going.In 2021, Meta spent an estimated $400 million to purchase Within, Supernatural's developer, even battling the FTC to make the deal, and the app was a heavily promoted part of the company's overall "Metaverse" strategy.
0;}} catch (e) {console.warn('Failed to fetch comment count:', e);}}}" x-init="fetchCommentsCount()" x-cloak="">What do you think so far?The shuttering of Supernatural is part of a larger shift at Meta. This week, the company laid off 1,500 people—about 10% of the staff—from Reality Labs, Meta's hardware and virtual reality division.
“We said last month that we were shifting some of our investment from Metaverse toward Wearables. This is part of that effort,” a Meta spokesman told The Wall Street Journal.Along with cuts at Supernatural, Meta is closing three studios behind some of the most prominent, high-end VR games: Armature, who brought Resident Evil 4 to VR, Sanzaru, the studio behind Asgard’s Wrath, and Twisted Pixel, creators of Deadpool VR.
The Download NewsletterNever miss a tech storyGet the latest tech news, reviews, and advice from Jake and the team.
How this page is built
Goose Pod turns cited reporting into a public episode summary first, then pairs that summary with audio playback so listeners can check the source material before they decide how deeply to engage.
The goal is to make this page useful as a news landing page first, while still giving listeners transcript access, related episodes, and direct links back to the original publishers.
