Meta is discontinuing its Horizon Workrooms VR conferencing software on February 16th.
For those who don’t know, Workrooms is Meta’s collaborative productivity app for Quest headsets, first released in 2021. Workrooms lets you view your PC monitor in VR and share your screen with your teammates as a meta avatar in a virtual meeting room. People who don’t own a Quest can still participate via webcam via the web interface.
The app also has Solo Personal Office, which gives you a free extra monitor, effectively turning your laptop into a triple monitor setup.
Facebook launches Horizon Workrooms to power remote work
Facebook is trying to promote remote work with a collaborative platform called Horizon Workrooms. This new service launches today as an open beta test release and will be available for free on the web, via video calls, or built into Oculus Quest 2. The latter is
In Summer 2024, Meta released a Workroom overhaul that streamlined the interface while removing key features, leading to significant backlash from users.
The update removed the virtual whiteboard in meeting rooms, the app’s flagship feature designed around the Touch Pro controller, as well as all customizations in meeting rooms, the web-based text chat and file sharing system, and tracked keyboard support.
The main benefit of the overhaul was improvements to Solo Personal Office. But just over a year ago, Meta and Microsoft launched official Windows 11 remote desktop functionality for Quest’s Horizon OS. This also allows for the generation of virtual additional side monitors.
The official Windows 11 remote desktop feature runs as OS-level Windows. This means it will support the seamless multitasking features coming to Horizon OS in 2024, allowing you to use your PC inside VR or mixed reality apps.
Added aspect ratio settings and ultrawide mode to Windows 11 remote desktop on Quest 3
Official Windows 11 remote desktops in Horizon OS now have 21:9 and 3:4 aspect ratio options, as well as a wrap-around visionOS-like ultrawide mode.
Essentially, Windows 11 integration completely replaces your personal office workroom. But what Meta doesn’t offer a replacement for is its online multi-user conference room capabilities.
Meta officially recommends that Workrooms users switch to Arthur, Microsoft Teams Immersive, or other virtual meeting software from the Horizon Store. An example we point to is Fluid. Fluid has great reviews and focuses on sharing your screen with others in VR.
“After February 16, 2026, Workrooms will no longer be accessible and all data associated with Workrooms will be deleted,” Meta said.
The news comes in the same week that the company shut down three of the VR game studios it acquired, folded another, stopped updating its VR fitness service and canceled the Batman: Arkham Shadow sequel, a broader move to shift spending away from VR and toward smart glasses.
