SAN FRANCISCO — By Andrew Lloyd Webber-Developer, AI Bee Reel Staff

January 18, 2026

MENLO PARK, CA — Local fitness enthusiast Dave Miller was enjoying his daily virtual reality workout when the screen went dark. While Miller was punching the air aggressively during a boxing session, his virtual trainer suddenly checked a digital watch, whispered "I'm fired," and dissolved into a pile of green pixels. Confused by the sudden lack of guidance, Miller swung his controller wildly and shattered his expensive floor lamp.

"We are streamlining the user experience by removing the people who make it work," said Meta VP of Retention, Sarah Jenkins. Supernatural has had its staff cut significantly and will not receive new content updates. "This update teaches users resilience. If you need a cartoon coach to tell you to sweat, that is a skill issue. We are pivoting to 'self-guided' fitness, which is just you standing in your living room wearing a heavy helmet."

"Silence is the ultimate motivator," explained Director of Immersion Gary Thorne. "Real gyms feel lonely and sad, so we brought that feature to the Metaverse." Thorne noted that while the trainers are gone, the billing system is working perfectly. He watched calmly as a user in the testing lab ignored the error messages and continued doing squats in a digital void, hoping a new coach would spawn if he worked hard enough.

At press time, Miller attempted to sweep up the broken glass while his headset charged him $19.99 for a "Severance Package" cool-down session.

Inspired by the real story: Meta laid off the team behind the Supernatural VR fitness app, meaning no new workouts are coming. Read the full story.