The metaverse is in danger of going sideways for Mark Zuckerberg. It seems that the inventor of social networks has backed the wrong horse this time. More than just a misstep that would have cost him $36 billion so far, if one considers that the rebranding of the group that includes Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp is going through the metaverse, as the name chosen was Meta.
Yet sales of the visors are not satisfying any of the giants that decided to produce them. And more and more big tech companies are fleeing those sadly empty virtual moors.
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Metaverse dossier for Microsoft
The first to drastically reduce teams connected to the new technology was Microsoft. Which, in addition to laying off 11,000 employees on 10 March, also closed AltspaceVR.
This is the social virtual reality platform it acquired in 2017 and which was responsible for developing solutions in this sense by hosting events and social spaces in which people could freely participate.
Metaverse case for Sony
Sony’s visors are also in danger of costing the Japanese gaming multinational a lot of money, leaving the public indifferent.
According to marketing intelligence firm International Data Corporation (IDC), Sony reportedly ended the month of March by placing just 270,000 visors. Or 14 per cent of the total units in production for the launch. In the launch window, the Japanese had expected to place two million copies while barely reaching 300,000 units.
The Metaverse goes sideways at Disney
The latest to come out of the back doors of the metaverse is Disney struggling with a strict diet to get back into the books.
The group, according to sources close to the file told the Wall Street Journal, has already eliminated the division that developed the metaverse headed by Mike White.
All 50 team members have lost their jobs with the exception of White. Who will remain with the company, obviously in another role, as the team no longer exists.
The Metaverse of Meta is empty
As we have already reported, the collapse of the metaverse threatens to overwhelm Meta in particular, which has invested so much in it, getting back rather little.
Zuckerberg’s company wants to be able to accumulate at least 75 million users between Facebook, Instagram and VR.
The first target to be reached is 500,000 monthly active users in the first half of 2023. Currently, the number is less than 200,000. But the main problem is the ‘retention rate’.
Naturally, the number of loyal users must grow. At the moment, as anticipated, only 11% of users return to Horizon Worlds the following month. The goal for this year is to reach 20%.
The astonishing figures promised for those who invest in the Metaverse of Meta
Meta’s media drumbeat to relaunch its metaverse probably includes the recent report promising riches for those who believe in the project.
In Italy, the metaverse could generate an economic impact of between EUR 28 and 52 billion by 2035, while in the European Union as a whole this figure would amount to between EUR 259 and 489 billion per year, or 1.3%-2.4% of the world’s GDP.
These are the figures emerging from the study ‘The Metaverse and the Opportunity for the European Union’, conducted by Meta with Deloitte. Astronomical figures that for this very reason seem to be part of the marketing campaign launched by the Group.
Read also: Dubai, all about the city’s strategy to become a Metaverse hub
