The battle over Meta’s acquisition of Inside has ended. Meta has finalised its acquisition of the virtual reality exercise app developer, bringing Supernatural and other projects into the fold of the metaverse behemoth. Inside said in October 2021 that it will continue to produce Supernatural fitness material under Meta’s Reality Labs umbrella, but the two would not explain further on their intentions.
For a moment, the agreement seemed in jeopardy. The Federal Trade Commission filed an antitrust lawsuit in July 2022 to halt the purchase, claiming that Meta was attempting to buy its way into VR domination by purchasing major creators like as Inside and Beat Saber founder Beat Games. Meta agreed to postpone the transaction to give herself more time. Nevertheless, a federal court last week refused a preliminary injunction to halt the merger while the FTC investigated. The commission opted not to challenge the decision, but it was still to decide whether it would seek the intervention of an administrative law court to halt the merger.
Today marks a new chapter for Within and @GetSupernatural, as we officially join @Meta. We’re thrilled to help people transform their lives as we bring more joy, awe and wonder to the world. We look forward to what’s ahead. pic.twitter.com/yf4U5mGwbI
— Within (@WITHIN) February 8, 2023
Meta gains control of one of the most popular VR fitness applications at a critical juncture. With severe losses and a lack of clear incentives to spend considerable time in VR, Meta is failing to transition to the metaverse. Inside provides Meta with a fitness system as well as a subscription service, but focused at a rather small population. It also helps Meta compete with a rising number of headgear, like PlayStation VR2.
Yet, the completion is not good news for the FTC. The Inside buyout was an early test of commission head Lina Khan’s anti-Big Tech campaign. While there are still fights to be fought, such as the antitrust litigation over Microsoft’s Activision Blizzard acquisition, this indicates that the regulator will have a difficult time keeping huge corporations in control.
