Tencia Benavidez, who resides in rural New Mexico, began using Supernatural for VR workouts during the Covid pandemic. Over the past five years, she found VR fitness ideal due to limited access to local gyms and harsh winter conditions. Benavidez praised Supernatural's community and the authenticity of its coaches, noting they never condescended and brought something special to the experience.
In 2022, Meta acquired Supernatural, integrating it into its metaverse initiatives. The purchase was contentious, prompting a legal battle with the US Federal Trade Commission due to antitrust concerns over Meta's VR market dominance. Despite these challenges, Meta succeeded, and users like Benavidez hoped the acquisition would secure Supernatural's future.
Regarding the acquisition, Benavidez remarked, 'Meta fought the government to buy this thing. All that just for them to shut it down? What was the point?' Both Meta and Supernatural declined to comment when contacted.
Recently, Bloomberg reported that Meta laid off over 1,000 employees across its VR and metaverse divisions following substantial financial losses. The cutbacks affected most Supernatural staff and led to the closure of three VR studios responsible for games like Resident Evil 4 and Deadpool VR.
Goff Johnson commented on the situation, 'If it was a bottom-line thing, I think they could have charged more money. I think people would have paid for it. This just seems unnecessarily heartless.'