Both software giants Facebook Meta and Microsoft as well as entertainment company Walt Disney have been reported on pulling out from the metaverse industry as metaverse fail to gain traction.
Just 2 years after its debut, major companies seem to be losing their faith in this metaverse technology resulting in a domino effect of major layoffs in this field.
The idea of web3 metaverse itself has been existing since 1992 by Neal Stephenson through his book titled Snow Crash however it got popularised just recently by Mark Zuckerberg by renaming its company from previously Facebook Inc to Meta Platforms Inc and adding “from Meta” logo to its three social media giants; Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.
Soon after, other tech giants such as Microsoft, Google, Nvidia, Roblox, and even entertainment company Disney decided to go all into this now seemingly novelty technology.
“The metaverse hype is over. But the real challenge has been the cost of the metaverse. It is not inclusive, the software and gadgets are too expensive,” Nairobi-based emerging tech expert Egline Samoei told Quartz.
“People are still googling the meaning of the metaverse. Again, it only appeals to gaming, art, and fashion. It does not meet the needs of many people,” said the founder of Brand Moran.
Major layoffs and scraps of idea
As the “hype” of metaverse and blockchain has steadily died out, this, unfortunately, causes a domino effect on current employees as they are now facing a fear of being laid off as a consequence of the massive hiring by the companies in order to win this “race”.
As a point of measure, Meta has been reported to spend $36 billion on its metaverse project and held a massive recruitment back in 2021.
Meta have cut off at least 11,000 jobs just to keep the Metaverse project afloat as it refuses to abandon the idea completely and now plans to cut 10,000 more as 11,000 hasn’t cut it.
On the other hand, both Microsoft and Disney have decided to back down from the metaverse race with Microsoft shutting down its industrial microsoft metaverse focused groups and Disney shutting down its entire metaverse division.
Shift of focus
While Meta is still attempting to keep its metaverse project in the lifeline, its main focus has been shifted towards keeping the company itself to stay afloat by focusing on cutting costs and streamlining projects in this “year of efficiency.”
Microsoft and Disney have been reported on abandoning the metaverse project entirely with Microsoft focusing on generative AI with the incorporation of ChatGPT into its Bing platform instead.
Bottom line
With the hype of the Web3 metaverse idea dying down, major companies have decided to conduct huge layoffs in order to rebound from the losses due to the failed project.
While both Microsoft and Disney have decided to quit the metaverse scene entirely, Meta has decided to keep its expensive investment to stay alive a bit longer however it will no longer become its primary focus.
