Meta CTO confirms multiple next-gen VR headsets are in development

Meta isn't done with VR. CTO Andrew Bosworth went on Instagram to field questions and flatly denied the company is walking away from headsets, pointing to ongoing development of multiple next-generation devices.

Bosworth's comments come after a rough stretch for Meta's VR ambitions — three VR studios were shut down earlier this year, and the metaverse pivot has quietly faded from the conversation. Still, he pushed back on the idea that the cuts signal retreat: "We did get ourselves into a more sustainable shape, that's true. But no. We continue to invest quite a bit there." He also referenced Meta's Q4 2025 earnings call, where CFO Susan Li confirmed future headsets are still in the pipeline, and noted that a Meta Quest 4 could arrive shortly after that call. For anyone wanting specifics, Bosworth pointed to Meta Connect — the company's annual showcase — scheduled for September 23–24 this year.

Meta isn't the only one gearing up for a headset launch. Valve's Steam Frame is expected to land this summer, with a large US shipment already spotted and a "Great on Frame" tag appearing on the Steam storefront. The Steam Frame packs 16 GB of LPDDR5X memory, compared to the 8 GB of LPDDR5 in the Meta Quest 3 — a meaningful spec gap that raises the bar for what "next-gen" actually means. Price remains the elephant in the room for both devices. Meta's heavy investment in AI and data center infrastructure creates a painful hardware squeeze: the same AI boom driving Meta's business is contributing to component costs that make affordable cutting-edge headsets harder to deliver.

September is shaping up as a pivotal moment for Meta's VR credibility. After studio closures and a quieter metaverse narrative, the company needs Meta Connect to deliver something convincing. Whatever Bosworth's team is building, it'll need strong hardware at a price the market can actually stomach — and right now, neither of those things is easy to guarantee.