Meta’s attempt to pioneer a metaverse and make VR cool completely flopped, except for one shining gem: Supernaturala VR fitness game that made working out fun and accessible. Now, users can rejoice that Supernatural is not closing after all.
Meta went through the trouble of fighting an eight-month antitrust battle so it could acquire Within, the game studio that made Supernatural, in 2023. The deal was reportedly worth about $400 million, plus whatever it costs to fight and win an FTC lawsuit. However, after all that effort, Meta fired much of its VR team and announced that it would stop adding new content a few years later.
But Meta had a rare moment of mercy and listened to the Supernatural users who he protested the sad fate of the app. About five months later, Meta now lets his Supernatural team split into one new independent company called Supernatural Health, which will take over the app later this year.
“Supernatural is reborn. Same coaches, same DNA, same obsession with making fitness feel like the best part of your day — now under a new, independent company we’re starting over,” says Supernatural Health. website.
Who is behind Supernatural Health? The original founders, of course.
It’s a happy ending, but it’s crazy. It’s the regulatory equivalent of a high school student professing his undying love to his crush via an elaborate proposal, then having a tense dinner with his date’s parents to prove his intentions, only to break up right after prom.
“We are grateful for the platform and resources Meta has provided during a critical development phase,” Supernatural Health he wrote. “This transition reflects a shared belief that the Supernatural community is best served by a focused, independent team. Meta has been supportive throughout.”
I’ll be here pulling my hair out over how dumb this whole situation was, but at least I know an online community has escaped the hard anvil of big tech.
“Like many of us, I was so devastated when the coaches were let go and told that our beloved Supernatural, while we loved it and it was great, was never going to get any better than it was. What we had was what we had. We all felt it was bought to be killed,” one user he wrote in the public Supernatural Facebook group. “I’m so juicy. Why am I tearing up?”
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