The Metaverse was hailed as the upcoming major innovation in technology when it emerged in October 2021. Additionally, Mark Zuckerberg renamed Facebook Meta.
The Web3-powered concept advertised itself as a 3D online universe that connects a variety of virtual locations and allows its users to communicate, trade, meet, work, play, and even socialize.
The idea was first introduced in Neal Stephenson's 1992 novel Snow Crash, but Zuckerberg brought it to life thanks to Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp's more than two billion users.
As soon as this new technology became available, companies like Microsoft, NVidia, Google, Disney, Unity Technology, Roblox Corporation, Amazon, Animoca Brands, Epic Games, Decentraland, and even Binance rushed to get a piece of it.
However, the lack of widespread adoption of the technology is largely due to its prohibitive cost, especially for users in developing economies. Tech enthusiasts argue that the idea of mass adoption has never been narrowed down to a clear definition.
“The metaverse hype is over. The cost of the metaverse, however, has proved to be the real stumbling block. The technology is not inclusive and the devices and software are too expensive,” Eglyn Samoi, an emerging tech expert based in Nairobi, told Quartz. Definition of metaverse on Google Searching. Once again, it only has appeal to gamers, artists, and fashionistas. According to the founder of the brand Moran, the needs of many people are not met.
Now that generative AI is gaining traction across the globe, the metaverse's firepower is steadily dwindling, and businesses that had previously made significant plans for it are abandoning ship.
Has meta changed its focus?
Despite objections from his partners, Zuckerberg invests $36 billion in the Metaverse and is now leaving the technology. In its "year of efficiency", he claimed, his company would now focus on reducing costs and streamlining projects.
Since he invested in it, the value of Meta has experienced one downward spiral after another, and the losses keep piling up. To keep its Metaverse project afloat, the company has cut at least 11,000 jobs, but it hasn't helped. Now, it wants to eliminate 10,000 more jobs.
Many of the technologists who led Meta's apparent success in the Metaverse project have also abandoned it amid its slow rise in popularity. John Carmack, who oversaw Meta's development of VR headsets, announced that the project was performing at only "half effectiveness" before he left the company.
If Zuckerberg decides to resign, his loss of interest could have far-reaching implications.
Disney no longer holds the metaverse to be real
Disney has announced that its Metaverse division will be shutting down. Over the next two months, it intends to lay off 7,000 employees in an effort to increase profitability.
Disney invested in the Metaverse with the intention of using the technology to tell its stories interactively and implement augmented reality in its theme parks. However, there are indications that this will not happen.
Microsoft, which also made a significant bet, is abandoning its Metaverse plans in favor of generative AI by integrating GPT into its Bing platform.
The metaverse's lifeline
But some people still have hope. He claims that, despite short-term hiccups, the technology is here to stay.
However, for this to happen, according to blockchain expert and ChainAdvice founder Benjamin Aranda, the world needs to stop looking at the idea through a fancy lens.
The use of VR and AR has practical applications in education, medicine, space exploration, and research. If done physically, taking students on trips to space or under the ocean, for example, is difficult and expensive, according to Arunda.
Some aspects of the metaverse would also need to change in order to be widely adopted, he added.
It's still got a ways to go. The equipment is too heavy. They need to be as thin as glasses, yet as cheap and widely accessible as smartphones. Also, their ears and eyes should be protected.
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