Meta Acquires VR Fitness App Creator Within Following Company Rebrand
Meta bolsters its metaverse ambitions by acquiring Within, the Los Angeles startup behind the popular VR workout app Supernatural. The deal aims to expand virtual reality fitness offerings and enhance future hardware.
Meta acquires Within, the Los Angeles-based developer of the popular virtual reality fitness app Supernatural, just one day after rebranding from Facebook. Supernatural stands out as a major success story in the VR space by offering Beat Saber-style, high-impact cardio workouts that users can perform at home.
The purchase makes strategic sense as Meta broadens its ambitions for the metaverse, especially since Supernatural experiences high demand as an at-home exercise solution. Within's leadership promises that the app will continue delivering daily workouts while utilizing Meta's resources to introduce more music, social features, and creative exercise routines.
Supernatural operates under Meta's Reality Labs division, and the entire existing team of coaches and choreographers stays on board. Meta's VP of Play indicates the company plans to explore hardware enhancements specifically for VR fitness and hopes to encourage other developers to build successful third-party workout experiences in virtual reality.