Meta Exec Hopes Teen Engagement in VR Will Persist

Meta’s VR games director, Chris Pruett, foresees today’s GorillaTag-playing teens continuing their VR use into adulthood. Pruett stated the gaming industry is facing difficult times, labeling it as the roughest period in his nearly 30-year career. Meta has recently cut over 1,000 VR jobs and reduced first-party game development. Despite concerns among third-party developers, the Quest store’s revenue rose slightly in 2025, driven largely by free-to-play games for young teens. Pruett remains optimistic, noting these players will mature and seek more complex experiences without abandoning VR. He predicts today’s VR-native youths will evolve into core players with different game preferences and spending capacities. Older teens and emerging 30-something consumers are crucial for VR’s future, with this latter group viewing VR more as personal TVs than gaming devices. Meta’s efforts to captivate these consumers include a partnership with James Cameron for 3D content and developing a lightweight headset expected in 2027. Pruett believes targeting this demographic will necessitate feature-rich, sit-down-friendly games, even as Apple and Samsung appeal to similar audiences with their high-priced headsets. However, the size of this market is still uncertain, as evidenced by Apple’s reduced production due to low Vision Pro sales. Pruett remains hopeful about attracting this “large looming audience” to VR, despite their current limited presence.