Technology has been evolving at a fast pace. While the world tries to catch up, some innovations lose steam sooner than expected. The metaverse falls into this category, considering the fact that an array of major firms have been putting off their plans around this technology. Now, Disney has joined this list after setting up a team back in 2022.
The Wall Street Journal stated earlier today that Walt Disney Co. had disbanded its metaverse division. The company assembled this team with a total of 50 people. The metaverse unit was limited and focused on consumer experiences and next-generation storytelling. The division was entrusted with figuring out how to use Disney’s huge inventory of intellectual property, to convey interactive tales in new technology mediums.
It should be emphasized that this is in the context of the larger restructuring approach employed by Walt Disney Co. The company plans to reduce the number of employees by approximately 7,000 over the next two months. The division was headed by Mike White, a former Disney consumer products executive.
It is brought to light that about 50 members of the team lost their jobs. However, White was retained even though his current role was unknown. However, a year after the division was established, plans for Disney’s metaverse approach were still nebulous.
Is this the end of the Metaverse?
This isn’t the first time that a firm has shelved its metaverse plans. Recently, Mark Zuckerberg’s metaverse plans were halted after the firm lost $13.7 billion in 2022.
Additionally, this sudden shift of interest comes from the emergence of artificial intelligence technology. AI has become immensely pertinent in today’s world. A plethora of firms like Microsoft, Google, Meta, and others have started veering into this arena. More recently, Disney also rolled out an AI tool that de-ages actors in seconds.