Facebook’s XR Roadmap
VR enthusiasts got upset at Facebook’s recent announcement that their headsets will begin to test ads. One VR developer who had originally signed up to include ads in their game reversed their decision due to the controversy.
VR enthusiasts were also shocked last year when Facebook announced their consumer headsets will require real-name Facebook accounts, or risk a ban.
These moves were all expected. Let’s stop being surprised by Facebook’s ad-driven business model and try to understand it better. Like all business models, it selects for and rewards decisions that increase revenues. In this case, employees and features that increase ad revenues or user retention will get rewarded more. People who fight for greater civic responsibility at the expense of ad revenue or retention will tend to get frustrated and leave, over time. We always presume good intentions and can find multiple exceptions to these forces. But we don’t need an oracle to see what wins out, long-term.
So let’s map out the company’s next five to ten years of XR development based on everything we know from public information.
Why Should You Believe Me?
Cassandra, of Greek mythology, had a gift to see the future, but was cursed to be forever disbelieved. She foresaw the original Trojan horse attack, where Greek soldiers hid…
