Here's what a Facebook veteran with deep knowledge of Horizons told me about the project last July, shortly after the company announced that making the Metaverse would be its main focus:
"I think Facebook has the money and people to throw at the problem," as they put it to me, "but making 0-1 products as a large entity hasn't been one of Facebook's strong suits... it's been to acquire other products and integrate them into the Facebook ecosystem. With the average employee tenure being 2 years or so, and the need to expand teams at rapid rates, it's very difficult to make decisions and stick to a single vision because things are always changing."
"This [turnover] leads to teams at Facebook fast following on trends. You can see it when you look at Horizon and Rec Room, or when you listen to Instagram's new focus on video, referencing Tik Tok. So will they achieve the vision [Zuckerberg] paints? Maybe. But will it be executed in a way people choose it over say, Animal Crossing, or whatever new social game comes out? To be decided."
"[P]eople really just want that pay and glory," as this insider tells me. "When they realize it’s actually a hassle but good pay they go do other things if they are in demand. VR work is paid the highest in tech so people flock to it, but what they don’t realize is that they’re working on a currently isolating, limited tech, that you have to wear on your face, and they’re working for a company that they aren’t super proud to say they work at."
