Meta✴ declines to shut down the VR application Supernatural and instead will spin off its development into a standalone company.

Meta failed to create a mass metaverse – but the fitness game Supernatural survived

In 2023 Meta (later renamed Meta Platforms) went through a lengthy antitrust process to acquire Within – the company that created the popular VR fitness app Supernatural. The deal cost roughly $400 million plus legal fees.

After the acquisition, Meta cut its virtual reality development department and announced it would stop working on the Supernatural project. However, given active user protests, the company showed “rare mercy” by allowing the team to continue working in an independent structure.

Five months later the Supernatural team officially split from Meta and formed its own company, Supernatural Health. On its website the new organization states:

> “Supernatural will be reborn. The same trainers, the same DNA, the same passion for making fitness part of everyday routine – now we’re starting from scratch as an independent company. We are grateful to Meta for the platform and resources provided at a critical growth moment. This transition confirms the belief that the Supernatural community is best served by a united, autonomous team.”

Thus, while Meta’s attempt to create an attractive metaverse was unsuccessful, its fitness app continues to exist and evolve in a new independent form.