Meta cuts more than 1,000 roles from Reality Labs

Executive summary

Welcome to your weekly briefing on the metaverse and spatial computing. Here are your snippets to sound smarter in meetings this week:

• Top stories: Meta cuts more than 1,000 roles from Reality Labs (more below).

• This week’s stories: XREAL has filed a patent infringement lawsuit in the US against Viture affiliates, alleging unauthorised use of its core augmented reality optical system technology following earlier legal action in Germany.

Main story

Meta cuts more than 1,000 roles from Reality Labs.

• Why? The company wants to focus on its more consumer ambitions as well as AI devices, stepping away from more business-orientated activities as well as other areas.

• What’s the significance? For me, it's the company taking a step back, looking at a broad view of Reality Labs, and having a think about what would work well for the area as a whole. The company is doubling down on what I think will work better longer-term, while stepping back on things which might not work as well. An example of this is Meta Horizon Workrooms, which will be cut as well.

This week’s stories

• Asus and Xreal have partnered to launch the ROG Xreal R1 AR gaming glasses at CES 2026, featuring 240 Hz Micro-OLED displays, a 171-inch virtual viewing area, and a 57-degree field of view optimised for gaming and productivity.

• CD Projekt RED has issued a DMCA takedown request that resulted in the removal of Luke Ross’s long-standing Cyberpunk 2077 VR mod, which had enabled players to experience the game in virtual reality since 2022.

• Ipswich Borough Council has installed augmented and virtual reality binoculars at six historic sites to let visitors experience digitised images and sounds from 1895, showcasing the town’s Victorian-era life and heritage.

• The Natural History Museum Abu Dhabi has partnered with Snap Inc. to launch augmented reality experiences across mobile and Spectacles in early 2026, enabling visitors to explore 13.8 billion years of natural and cosmic history through interactive AR.

• Primary has launched a free Apple Vision Pro app delivering verified immersive journalism through spatial video filmed largely on iPhone by reporters worldwide.

• XREAL has filed a patent infringement lawsuit in the US against Viture affiliates, alleging unauthorised use of its core augmented reality optical system technology following earlier legal action in Germany.

Note: The Immersive Wire is run by Tom Ffiske, who also works at Accenture. The contents of the newsletter should not be regarded as Accenture’s views.

All spelling mistakes are deliberate, actually.