The news: Meta makes Meta Horizon Managed Services (HMS) free

Meta has announced a major change: as of February 20, 2026, it will no longer be possible to purchase commercial SKUs or subscriptions for Meta Horizon Managed Services (HMS); for existing customers, the license cost drops to $0/month. The update is described on the official Meta for Work support page: Update to Meta Horizon managed services (Meta for Work Help Center).

Several partners and publications also report a continuity window for existing customers until January 4, 2030 (with support in “maintenance mode”). Further reading: UploadVR, ArborXR Help Center, ManageXR Help Center.

In practice: recurring per-device costs drop dramatically, making it easier to invest where it truly matters—content, support, iterations, and experience quality.

Why this is a turning point specifically for Mixed Reality

Mixed Reality does not isolate users: people remain in the real world (passthrough) and interact with overlaid digital elements. This naturally leads to multi-user and collaborative experiences—groups talking to each other, staff supervising, audiences observing, shared activities in the same physical space.

This is why fleet management is even more critical in MR: a single “out-of-version” or differently configured device can break the magic, waste minutes between groups, and destabilize multiplayer. (We also discuss this here: Why Mixed Reality is the true future of AR.)

Concrete benefits for headset fleets (and why they matter a lot)

1) Releases and updates: uniformity = reliability

With a fleet, the goal isn’t to “install an app,” but to install it properly, consistently, everywhere. Centralized management reduces fragmentation, manual errors, and rollout times—especially before an event, a museum day, or a class.

2) Simplified setup: fewer accounts, fewer operational blocks

Schools and museums suffer most from the “account jungle” (passwords, recovery, locked devices). Smoother enrollment and shared-device management reduce friction and turn headsets into truly “service-oriented” tools.

3) Control dashboards: prevention, not just monitoring

Knowing in advance which devices are ready, updated, online, and consistent reduces downtime, last-minute fixes, and the staff needed to “babysit” headsets. This is the step that turns XR from a prototype into infrastructure.

4) Kiosk / “locked experience”: zero distractions, zero tampering

In public-facing contexts (museums, showrooms, events), users shouldn’t end up in menus or unintended apps. Kiosk logic means: the headset becomes a dedicated station, with fast startup and a guided flow.

5) “On top” services (ArborXR, ManageXR…): custom menus and advanced management

The “HMS free” news doesn’t eliminate enterprise platforms—it makes them easier to adopt. Solutions like ArborXR/ManageXR can add advanced layers (branded launchers, curated libraries, location/class groups, granular policies) while maintaining HMS integration: ArborXR / ManageXR.

Our field evidence: more stable and immediate multiplayer

In our experiments, when variables are reduced (aligned versions, consistent settings, identical startup), multiplayer becomes more stable and more immediate. In MR—where collaboration is often the core of the experience—this difference is even more noticeable.

If you’re interested in multi-user MR, here’s a deep dive on OpenGate: OpenGate Multiplayer builder for Mixed Reality.

The “Metagate” point: publishing custom OpenGate versions for enterprises

With lower fleet-management costs and more solid processes, a major opportunity opens up: creating and distributing custom versions of OpenGate for companies and organizations.

• Internal brand experiences: tailored MR environments (spaces, products, procedures, onboarding).
• Training and safety: guided, repeatable paths deployable across multiple locations.
• Showrooms and demos: updatable, controlled content, perfect for sales and trade shows.
• MR collaboration: multi-user sessions where teams and stakeholders share the same scene in the same physical space.

To understand what OpenGate is and how it was born as an MR infrastructure: OpenGate: the web app for building no-code mixed reality worlds on Meta Quest 3 and OpenGate XR: easy Mixed Reality via Google Drive.

Extras (often overlooked) that make a difference in fleets

• Process standardization: checklists, resets between shifts/classes, opening/closing procedures.
• Multi-location: the same experience everywhere (same behavior and updates across all locations).
• Hygiene and operational continuity: sanitization and charging become part of the fleet workflow (useful for museums, schools, events). Further reading: Sanitizing and cleaning headsets with UV light.
• Case studies: when MR meets the public, management is half the success. Example: Mixed Reality and Infrastructure: 80 years of Belluno construction brought to life in XR.

Conclusion

This change removes a major barrier: fleet management stops being a cost that slows things down and becomes an accelerator. And for those working on collaborative Mixed Reality, it means greater operational stability, scalability, and more opportunities to bring custom experiences into production.

Need an MR fleet for your company, school, or museum?
Get in touch: we’ll help you define the stack (HMS + optional MDM on top), procedures, and a roadmap for releases and multiplayer without surprises.