Facebook is reportedly planning to unveil a rebranding that includes a name change to better reflect the company’s move toward developing a metaverse, an unnamed source told The Verge.
The development of a metaverse aligns with Facebook’s beta release of its social virtual reality (VR) platform Horizon Worlds, which works in conjunction with Oculus Quest. Horizon, which has been in development for several years, includes a recent workplace collaboration version called Horizon Workrooms that would enable remote work meetings where people interact with avatars.
Speculation points to Facebook mirroring Google’s 2015 restructuring, which organized its various subsidiaries under the parent umbrella of Alphabet. Facebook also owns Instagram and WhatsApp.
Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s founder and CEO, is expected to announce the name change at the company’s annual AR/VR Connect conference on Oct. 28.
See also: The Metaverse Takes Its Next Leap Toward the Mainstream
The metaverse is a new digital world that gives people the ability to explore virtual places together without being in the same physical space.
Facebook has a workforce topping 10,000 that is dedicated to the development of augmented reality (AR) glasses and other virtual reality (VR) hardware that will eventually be as commonplace as smartphones, Zuckerberg told the Verge in July. He also said that the company had its sights set on being seen as a metaverse company instead of a social media platform.
Zuckerberg established a metaverse team over the summer and is building out the staff with the hiring of 10,000 more engineers in Europe. Facebook also backed its metaverse ambitions with a $50 million investment, and said in September that the completion of the project could take 10 to 15 years.
Read More: Facebook Seeks 10,000 Engineers in EU to Create New Digital World
The decision to rebrand could also be part of an effort to clean up the social media giant’s reputation after it took some heat in the press and by regulators over content moderation fails, alleged anticompetitive practices, queries about users’ mental health and other issues.
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