Supernatural isn’t dead after all

《Supernatural》终究没有“死”

A few months ago, Meta effectively handed Supernatural, a popular VR fitness game on the Meta Quest, a death sentence. As part of overarching VR layoffs, the company announced the game would no longer get any new content, enraging its tightly knit, devoted community. Now it looks like Supernatural is getting a second chance. Today, Meta announced in a community post that the game is being spun off into an independent company later this year.

几个月前，Meta 实际上给这款在 Meta Quest 上广受欢迎的 VR 健身游戏《Supernatural》判了“死刑”。作为其 VR 部门大规模裁员的一部分，Meta 宣布该游戏将不再更新任何新内容，这激怒了其紧密且忠诚的玩家社区。现在看来，《Supernatural》获得了第二次机会。今天，Meta 在一篇社区公告中宣布，该游戏将在今年晚些时候被拆分并成立一家独立公司。

The new entity will be called Supernatural Health, and will launch as a separate app on the Meta Horizon Store. While Meta did not comment on who would be the CEO of Supernatural Health, Meta spokesperson Che’von Lewis told The Verge that the original founders and coaches are behind Supernatural Health. The new app is expected to launch later this fall, along with new content. In the interim, Meta plans to wind down its current version of the app, and Supernatural Health will begin taking over Supernatural’s social channels and its official Facebook group. Current subscriptions will remain valid until December 3rd. Further details regarding the transition will be sent directly to subscribers.

新实体将被命名为“Supernatural Health”，并将作为独立应用程序在 Meta Horizon Store 上架。虽然 Meta 没有评论谁将担任 Supernatural Health 的首席执行官，但 Meta 发言人 Che’von Lewis 向《The Verge》透露，该游戏的原始创始人和教练团队将负责运营 Supernatural Health。新应用预计将于今年秋季晚些时候发布，并会带来全新内容。在此期间，Meta 计划逐步关停当前版本的应用，而 Supernatural Health 将开始接管《Supernatural》的社交媒体渠道及其官方 Facebook 群组。目前的订阅服务将持续有效至 12 月 3 日。有关过渡的更多详细信息将直接发送给订阅用户。

Meta’s acquisition of Supernatural in 2023 was initially contested by the Federal Trade Commission, then led by Lina Khan. At the time, Khan’s FTC argued that Meta was trying to buy its way to dominance in the VR market and that the acquisition would lead to decreased competition in the future. The case ultimately failed, but many disgruntled Supernatural fans told The Verge that they viewed Meta’s acquisition as the “kiss of death,” leading to decreased product support and fewer new features once the tech giant took over.

Meta 在 2023 年对《Supernatural》的收购最初遭到了由莉娜·汗（Lina Khan）领导的联邦贸易委员会（FTC）的反对。当时，汗领导的 FTC 认为，Meta 试图通过收购来确立其在 VR 市场的统治地位，并称此举将导致未来市场竞争减少。该诉讼最终以失败告终，但许多不满的《Supernatural》粉丝告诉《The Verge》，他们认为 Meta 的收购是“死亡之吻”，导致这家科技巨头接手后，产品支持力度下降，新功能也越来越少。

Since Meta decided to sunset Supernatural, several fans have been vocal online about trying to save the game. Usually, these fan campaigns don’t have happy endings. That said, there’s always hope. Zombies, Run! is another recent example where a “dead” fitness game was re-bought by its original owner and brought back with new content. Smartwatch maker Pebble has also enjoyed a recent resurgence (under its original brand name, too), launching new devices years after the company was bought out by Fitbit in late 2016. In any case, Meta’s decision to grant Supernatural a second chance under a new, independent company does underscore one thing: VR definitely isn’t a top priority for the company right now.

自从 Meta 决定让《Supernatural》停运以来，许多粉丝在网上积极呼吁拯救这款游戏。通常情况下，这类粉丝运动很难有圆满的结局。话虽如此，希望总是存在的。《Zombies, Run!》就是最近的一个例子，这款“已死”的健身游戏被其原始所有者重新买回，并带着新内容回归。智能手表制造商 Pebble 最近也实现了复兴（同样沿用了其原始品牌名称），在 2016 年底被 Fitbit 收购多年后，又重新推出了新设备。无论如何，Meta 决定让《Supernatural》在一家新的独立公司旗下获得第二次机会，这确实强调了一点：VR 目前绝对不是该公司的首要任务。