Facebook is preparing for rebranding. The company does not want to be thought of only as a social network. Its new name will refer to plans to build a metaverse.
According to The Verge, citing sources familiar with the situation, Mark Zuckerberg will announce the rebranding on October 28 during the Connect conference. But the publication also does not exclude that the new name may be announced earlier.
It is assumed that the new Facebook name may be related to Horizon. This was previously the name of the company’s VR gaming platform, but recently it was renamed Horizon Worlds. However, nothing can be said for sure — at the moment the name is kept secret, and not all company executives know it.
As a result of the rebranding, the Facebook social network will be positioned only as one of several products managed by the parent company. Along with Instagram, WhatsApp, Oculus and others.
Facebook declined to comment on The Verge’s post, saying it does not comment on “rumors or speculation.”
Recall that Zuckerberg began publicly talking about his desire to develop Facebook as a metaverse company in July: “Our main goal is to help bring the concept of the metaverse to life.” And at the end of last week, on October 17, Facebook announced that in the next five years it will hire 10,000 people to help it achieve this goal.
Also note that the rebranding is taking place against the backdrop of criticism of Facebook from regulators in the United States. Earlier this month, a former employee of the company Frances Haugen (Frances Haugen) accused Facebook of immoral behavior. Allegedly, she deliberately sacrifices the security of users for the sake of profit.
Facebook is not the first major technology company to decide to change its name as it grows. For example, in 2015, Google did so, which became known as Alphabet. And in 2016, Snapchat was renamed Snap.
Last week , the rebranding was announced and Mail.ru Group, which now bears the name VK.