Meta has taken out the VR fitness game Supernatural instead of just killing it

Meta’s attempt to pioneer the metaverse and make VR cool has failed, except for one shining diamond: Supernatural, a VR fitness game that made working out fun and accessible. Now, users can rejoice that Supernatural isn’t shutting down after all.

Meta went through the hassle of fighting an antitrust battle for eight months so it could acquire the game studio Inside, which made Supernatural, in 2023. The deal was reportedly worth about $400 million, plus the cost of fighting and winning an FTC lawsuit. However, after all these efforts, Meta laid off much of its VR team and announced that it would stop adding new content after just a few years.

But Meta had a rare moment of mercy and listened to Supernatural users who protested the sad fate of the app. After about five months, Meta is now allowing the Supernatural team to spin off into a new independent company called Supernatural Health, which will take over the app later this year.

“Supernatural is reborn. Same trainers, same DNA, same obsession with making fitness feel like the best part of your day—now under a new, independent company, we’re starting from the ground up,” Supernatural Health says on its website.

Who is behind Super Health? The original founders, of course.

It’s a happy ending, but it’s maddening. It’s the organizational equivalent of a high school student professing his undying love to his crush through an elaborate prom, then navigating a tense dinner with his partner’s parents to prove they have good intentions, only to break up immediately after the dance.

“We are grateful for the platform and resources Meta provided during this critical growth phase,” Supernatural Health wrote. “This shift reflects a shared belief that the Supernatural community is best served by an independent, focused team. The Meta has been supportive throughout.”

I’ll be here to be appalled at how stupid this whole situation is, but at least I know that one online community has escaped the cruel anvil of big tech.

“Like many of us, I was devastated when the trainers were let go and told that our beloved Supernatural, even though we loved it and it was great, would never get better than it was. What we had was what we had. We all felt like it was bought to kill,” one user wrote in the public Supernatural Facebook group. “I’m such a sap. Why am I crying?”