A few months ago, Meta effectively handed Supernatural, a popular VR fitness game on the Meta Quest, a death sentence. As part of overarching VR layoffs, the company announced the game would no longer get any new content, enraging its tightly knit, devoted community. Now it looks like Supernatural is getting a second chance. Today, Meta announced in a community post that the game is being spun off into an independent company later this year.
The new entity will be called Supernatural Health, and will launch as a separate app on the Meta Horizon Store. While Meta did not comment on who would be the CEO of Supernatural Health, Meta spokesperson Che’von Lewis told The Verge that the original founders and coaches are behind Supernatural Health. The new app is expected to launch later this fall, along with new content. In the interim, Meta plans to wind down its current version of the app, and Supernatural Health will begin taking over Supernatural’s social channels and its official Facebook group. Current subscriptions will remain valid until December 3rd. Further details regarding the transition will be sent directly to subscribers.
Meta’s acquisition of Supernatural in 2023 was initially contested by the Federal Trade Commission, then led by Lina Khan. At the time, Khan’s FTC argued that Meta was trying to buy its way to dominance in the VR market and that the acquisition would lead to decreased competition in the future. The case ultimately failed, but many disgruntled Supernatural fans told The Verge that they viewed Meta’s acquisition as the “kiss of death,” leading to decreased product support and fewer new features once the tech giant took over.
Since Meta decided to sunset Supernatural, several fans have been vocal online about trying to save the game. Usually, these fan campaigns don’t have happy endings. That said, there’s always hope. Zombies, Run! is another recent example where a “dead” fitness game was re-bought by its original owner and brought back with new content. Smartwatch maker Pebble has also enjoyed a recent resurgence (under its original brand name, too), launching new devices years after the company was bought out by Fitbit in late 2016. In any case, Meta’s decision to grant Supernatural a second chance under a new, independent company does underscore one thing: VR definitely isn’t a top priority for the company right now.