Creators express their dismay over Meta’s recent decision to discontinue its augmented reality (AR) platform, Spark, effective January 14, 2025. Posted remarks within the Meta Spark Community on Facebook reveal significant concern, with some creators facing potential unemployment due to this abrupt announcement.
Meta explained on the Spark website that it plans to discontinue third-party AR tools and content, stipulating that AR effects developed by Meta will remain available. The company thanked its creator community for their contributions and creativity, which brought AR experiences to a global audience since Spark’s launch in 2017.
Despite considerable usage of AR effects by Meta users, the decision to close Spark was described as strategic, aiming to refocus on products and technologies poised to meet future consumer and business needs, possibly highlighting a shift towards enhanced AI integration.
The platform’s closure announcement comes ahead of the Meta Connect event, heightening speculation about Meta’s upcoming projects, including rumored updates to its AR smart glasses. This move has raised questions among developers about Meta’s commitment to AR innovation.
Community feedback has been overwhelmingly negative, with creators like Douglas Costa criticizing the short notice and lack of support for transitioning their work and livelihoods. Meta advises creators to secure their project files and assets before the platform’s closure, promising to archive the community group thereafter.