Is the Metaverse Dead on Arrival?
Mark Zuckerberg's metaverse project has only 200,000 monthly users. Is it time to admit that the metaverse dream is dead?
The negative headlines are everywhere.
Meta is investing around $10-15 billion per year in the metaverse, all while its stock is down almost 70% in a year.
Zuckerberg's investors are urging him to stop wasting so much money on his metaverse vision.
And in my recent LinkedIn poll , 72% of respondents said Zuckerberg's metaverse is a failure.
Is it finally time to give up on the metaverse dream? Let's dig in ...
What is a Metaverse?
First, what is "the metaverse"? Here are some concepts that have been suggested:
Does a metaverse need to check all these boxes, or just some?
Because depending on your definition, the metaverse might actually be a blockbuster success!
Is the Metaverse a Blockbuster Hit?
Take a look at these stats about virtual worlds ...
As you can see, the game Roblox is a massive hit -- it has 230 million monthly active users!
Roblox lets you build your own games and collect a portion of the revenue, with some users making over $1 million a year. It also has its own currency: Robux.
Doesn't that sound a little bit like an early metaverse?
Minecraft is also huge. Its 165 million monthly users can create skins, textures, worlds and games to sell on the Minecraft Marketplace. Minecraft has its own currency too: Minecoins.
Fortnite is certainly trying to replace real-world activities with virtual ones: It hosts entire concerts with acts like Travis Scott and Marshmello. What's more, it has its own currency -- V-Bucks -- and lets you create your own worlds in Fortnite Creative.
Oh, and Fortnite has 85 million users logging in every month!
Finally, let's not forget the social app Rec Room -- it has 3 million monthly users on VR headsets alone.
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Blockchains are a Bust!
Admittedly, if you limit your definition of the "metaverse" to blockchain-based apps, the numbers don't look so good ...
Decentraland, the most famous decentralized world, has around 56,000 monthly users .
Meanwhile its rival, "The Sandbox Game" claims to have 300,000 monthly active users .
And "The Otherside", a much-hyped metaverse from Bored Ape Yacht Club, has yet to launch.
Am I Too Old for the Metaverse?
Perhaps the most surprising data about virtual worlds is that they are mainly populated by young people.
Anyone with kids knows that Minecraft and Roblox are used almost exclusively by the young.
But attitudes to the metaverse also vary wildly by age ...
It's clear to see that if the metaverse takes off, it will be teenagers that make it a success.
That fits the trend of other social technologies:
Facebook was made for college students.
Snapchat was a hit with millennials.
TikTok took off with GenZ.
In other words: If you think the metaverse is a dud, you might be little too -- let's just say "mature" -- to adopt the trend.
But this data also makes Zuckerberg's vision -- of VR Zoom calls at work -- look a little out of touch!
Is the Metaverse Dead -- or a Monster Hit?
If you think the metaverse is dead, you might be looking in the wrong places.
Record numbers of young people are spending their time building -- and earning -- within virtual worlds.
Digital currencies and digital ownership are familiar concepts to younger generations of Internet users.
And while Zuckerberg might have missed the mark, the metaverse dream is far from dead.
In fact, it's rapidly becoming a reality.
Team Leader/ Technical Lead at Spencer Stuart
2 年It was never alive actually.
Athe metaverse is what Vine was in 2016. Right idea, wrong time. Eventually it will be reborn like TikTok and do much better.
SaaS and UX architect and conceptual designer with a passion for CX.
2 年Someone always has to fail in order for someone else to succeed.
Responsable de la stratégie marketing
2 年Think It is not dead because many games surf on that trend, people talk about and so metaverse will bloom soon.