The Metaverse’s head of global affairs said this week that the Metaverse is still in the future, saying that while Disney was the representative of this brave new virtual world, it was kicked out shortly after abandoning its own plans.
Former British Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, who joined Meta in 2018, held a meeting via Meta’s Horizon Workrooms with a number of press who attended via Meta Quest headsets sent to them . For clarity, leg was not in it.
An avatar created for a meta executive sat at a virtual wooden table wearing a virtual blue blazer and white collared shirt. 1 account looked like him.
“We’re going to stick with it,” Clegg said of the Metaverse, “because we believe this stuff will be at the heart of new computing platforms.”
“But it will take some time,” he added.
The confirmation that Meta is still behind this project isn’t a big surprise considering the company has spent billions of dollars creating this virtual space. Meta has so far used the money he spent on projects to create VR headsets, software and an app distribution platform.
Realizing that vision has taken longer than expected, and spending more to do so may seem at odds with Meta’s so-called “Year of Efficiency.” This is a year in which we achieved cost savings through measures such as cutting more than 20,000 staff.
Disney’s Metaverse business was designed to give viewers a more immersive experience – the next generation of storytelling. this week ended abruptly Amidst 7,000 job cuts across the company, there was an announcement that a small division would be eliminated.
According to reports, Disney’s plans for the Metaverse were still unclear one year after the business unit was formed. Not Just Disney: Microsoft Last Month reportedly has put a bullet into its industrial metaverse masterplan amid confirmed job cuts for a group of 10,000 people.
McKinsey estimates that from the beginning of 2021 to September of the following year, $177 billion was invested in the Metaverse by companies. Gartner also predicts that by 2026, 25% of the world will spend an hour a day in this virtual world. Conversely, a Canalys analyst says he believes the Metaverse business project will be finished by 2025.
Clegg told reporters at a virtual conference this week that advertising and commerce are two sources of revenue for the Metaverse. He said sectors such as gaming and fitness are embracing virtual worlds, as are education and healthcare.
The problem is that shareholders may be getting impatient with this constant promise of tomorrow’s technology. As Bloomberg pointed out, three avatars’ mouths moved when a reporter asked a question.
“I just want to emphasize that we look back at the hardware we wear now and think, ‘Well, remember when you wore the Quest Pro?'” Clegg said. “We have always been very clear that we are working on this for the long haul. This is not going to happen overnight.”
The clock is ticking. ®
