Why John Carmack Quit Meta: Inside the VR Visionary’s Departure

John Carmack, former chief technology advisor for Meta's virtual‑reality division, has left Meta, according to Business Insider and The New York Times.

He announced his decision on the internal Workplace forum, saying: "We built something very close to being right, but the problem is our efficiency."

Carmack joined Oculus in 2013 as CTO, helped drive the Oculus Rift; after Meta acquired Oculus in 2014 he moved to Meta; in 2019 he stepped down as Oculus CTO to become a consulting chief technology advisor, reducing his work at Meta; in 2022 he founded the AGI startup Keen Technologies, focusing on artificial‑intelligence development.

He has publicly criticized Meta's progress in AR and VR. In the October Meta Connect talk, he highlighted the difficulty of rapidly upgrading VR headsets, expressed doubt about Horizon Worlds as a social platform, and criticized the price increase of Quest 2 and the $1500 Quest Pro launch.

Carmack said he was tired of internal struggles at Meta and wanted to focus on his own startup, but the battle must still be won. He added that continuing the current approach might eventually achieve the goal, yet there is still much room for improvement.

In his resignation letter, he praised the popular Meta Quest 2 as a product that "makes the world a better place," but also noted that its basic usability needs improvement, startup times are slow, and transitions are unstable.

Back in late 2021, when Facebook rebranded as Meta and embraced the "metaverse," Carmack warned about "architect astronauts" who perform high‑level gestures without building practical, user‑centric products.

He challenged colleagues to deliver a cheap, lightweight Meta VR headset—potentially $250 and 250 g—contrasting with Meta's focus on the over‑designed $1500 Quest Pro. He later expressed disappointment when the 2022 showcase featured an awkward animated avatar in an empty room.

In an August podcast interview, Carmack said Meta loses nearly $1 billion per month in VR, a loss that pains him, yet the company continues to pour massive funds into VR and AR, even more recklessly than Google, which has canceled many projects.

Carmack has been a staunch VR advocate since joining Oculus VR in 2013, believing VR can change the world. He first saw the Oculus prototype at E3 2012, left id Software after 22 years, and helped launch early untethered headsets such as Gear VR and Oculus Go, later promoting the Quest as a potential Nintendo Switch competitor.

In 2019 he transitioned from CTO to consulting CTO, aligning with his public shift toward general artificial intelligence, and his AGI startup raised $20 million in August.

His departure removes Meta’s last link to the original Oculus leadership, which had included founders Palmer Luckey, Brendan Iribe, Nate Mitchell, and Jason Rubin.