Last year was not a good year for extended reality (XR), the latest collective description for virtual, augmented, and mixed reality.

Supporters of the metaverse, a world that blends digital assets with physical lifestyles, quietly shifted their direction. Most notably, you hardly hear Meta, the company that even changed its name to support that vision, talking about VR. Although Meta continues to release VR headsets, like most others, it’s focusing on AI.