Meta’s VR division suffered an operating loss of US$2.8 billion in the second quarter. Reality Labs, as it is widely known, is fundamental to Meta’s metaverse ambitions, even though it remains very expensive to operate.
Meta Reality Labs generated revenue of US$452 million in the second quarter ended June 30, compared with US$305 million a year ago and US$695 million in the first quarter. However, the division recorded a loss of US$2.8 billion in the second quarter, compared to a loss of US$2.4 billion in the previous year and US$2.96 billion in the first quarter.
The company is now preparing to raise the price of its Meta Quest 2 VR headsets by US$100 each on August 1, meaning that Meta Quest 2 will cost US$400 and US$500 for the 128GB and 256GB versions, respectively, starting in August.
For a limited time, every new purchase of a headset includes a free download of the popular VR rhythm game Beat Saber. The company is also raising prices for peripheral products too.
Meta’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg admits that the metaverse project was very expensive, but that it will be vital to how humans live. He explained that the company was building it in a way that would be the best possible platform without any restrictions from competitors. Zuckerberg explained that the metaverse could unlock hundreds of billions of dollars or trillions over time.
Meta’s overall income was US$6.69 billion on revenue of US$28.8 billion in the second quarter compared with net income of US$10.4 billion on revenue of US$29.1 billion a year earlier. Analysts predicted net income of US$7 billion on revenue of US$28.9 billion.
Although analysts’ estimates were not met, Meta’s daily active users stood at US$1.97 billion, up 3% from a year ago.
The sources for this piece include an article in VentureBeat.