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Business Insider and the Guardian write (basically) obituaries for the metaverse
The Immersive Wire - 15 May 2023 (Monday Briefing)
Tom Ffiske
May 15, 2023
Executive summary
Welcome to your weekly briefing on the metaverse. Here are your snippets to sound smarter in meetings this week:
Headline: Business Insider and the Guardian wrote (basically) obituaries for the metaverse (analysis below).
Stat of the week: Meta said the metaverse could contribute $760bn to the metaverse by 2025.
Conversation-starter: Can VR and skateboarding actually work?
Other stories: Nreal appears to be getting ready to rebrand itself as Xreal, Reboot Imagine is a new company that offers turn-key XR support, and AWE is offering free passes to those who recently lost their jobs because of the layoffs (more below).
It was lovely to see the work from students at Goldsmiths, University of London. The projects show a great deal of creativity and innovation, and everyone there has a bright future ahead of them.
Analysis
Business Insider and the Guardian write obituaries for the metaverse - what I call the ‘wave of unsubstantiated dissatisfaction.’
I will write a full piece on media cynicism in the metaverse very soon, but I wanted to hit this on the nail quickly. The long and short of it is that it’s mostly unsubstantiated points focused on Meta, rather than the core strengths of the industry.
Business Insider was one good example. It implied that Meta abandoned its metaverse vision for AI. This is not true. Mark Zuckerberg made it clear in a recent investor call that it is not the case, as the two trends will run parallel to each other.
One part that is true is the metaverse's persistent identity issues - which I agree with. The lack of unified agreement has led to more friction on its long-term vision. Other than that, I do not think the article provides a strong critique of the metaverse.
What do you think? If you have views, respond to this email and let’s chat!
Other notable stories
Got any stories? Let me know at tom (at) immersivewire (dot) com.
The Alternate Realities exhibition programme at Sheffield DocFest will showcase projects across immersive technologies.
Artiphon announced Minibeats, a new AR music app available on iOS.
AWE is offering free passes to those who recently lost their jobs because of the layoffs.
The Economist Metaverse Summit is happening in London and virtually in late June.
Disclaimer: The Immersive Wire is a media partner for the event.
Fast Travel Games and MobX Games announced that EVERSLAUGHT Invasion, a co-op action VR game, will launch on 25 May.
FitXR, a VR fitness app, is launching its instructor-guided training programs with two-time Olympic Gold Medalist Nicola Adams.
Habytat, a metaverse platform, recently launched.
Immerse Global Summit will be happening at the MetaCenter Global Week in Orlando, between 17 and 19 October.
Immerse UK unveiled its grand prize winners.
Metaverse Insider launches a platform to provide market intelligence on the metaverse industry.
Nreal appears to be getting ready to rebrand itself as Xreal, according to Lowpass.
Reboot Imagine is a new company that offers turn-key XR support.
Virtway announced that it had broken the record for concurrent users on its platform.
VIVE Arts partnered Gazelli Art House in London to present the UK premiere of Always I Distrust by Cheng Ran.
Help corner
Need some assistance from other readers? Let me know at tom (at) immersivewire (dot) com.
For a new project by new media artist Katharina Haverich, the team is looking for VRChat designers, coders and assets. The team is aiming at designing an inclusive theatre stage in VRChat to rehearse and perform excerpts from a play by German playwright Bertolt Brecht. For more information visit the open call on the website.
Lowpass is a new newsletter run by Janko Roettgers, who wrote a multitude of XR-related exclusives at Protocol. Check it out here.