Meta Platforms cancelled this year’s F8 developer conference to focus on building the metaverse.

Director of products and partnerships Diego Duarte Moreira revealed the move in a blog, but noted Meta Platforms still plans to hold its inaugural Conversations event for businesses and developers building services for the company’s messaging platforms on 19 May.

The company cancelled the F8 event in 2020 due to Covid-19 (coronavirus) pandemic concerns and then held it virtually in 2021.

Facebook changed its name to Meta Platforms in October 2021 as part of the social media giant’s metaverse push.

The metaverse is a network of interconnected 3D virtual worlds.

Moreira noted Meta Platforms also plans to hold its Connect event “later this year” to showcase its metaverse progress and detail latest developments on its VR and AR offerings.