Metaverse… Since COVID, the metaverse has been a leading technology trend. With work life moving back to home and remote work becoming mainstream due to global lockdowns, international virtual meeting platforms have gained a unique and fruitful period of interest and investment.
With the growing interest in traditional remote communication and meetings, forward-thinking solution providers and enterprises are ready to experiment with the next phase of digital communication. From consumer-centric experiences to enterprise support, the Metaverse platform is at the center.
In the post-COVID period, leading companies like Nike and Lenovo have experimented with virtual shared environments to improve a variety of outcomes. However, as the world of work returns to the office or utilizes hybrid environments, the general interest in fully transformative VR work and customer Metaverse services has waned in favor of partially immersive solutions. This can be seen in the growing interest and investment in MR, AR, and spatial computing devices like Apple’s Vision Pro that combine the real world with digital assets.
The shift in focus has led major metaverse and virtual meeting platforms to struggle, shutting down, laying off employees, and receiving little investment from their parent companies. Here’s a quick rundown of the recent victims of the metaverse collapse:
VRChat Cuts Staff by 30%
Most recently, reports have been circulating highlighting that VRChat is rapidly losing users post-COVID. VR Chat is laying off around 30% of its staff due to slow growth and over-recruitment during the lockdown.
CEO Graham Gaylor said in an email regarding the layoffs:
We are reducing our team size by about 30% and saying goodbye to many talented team members in the process. – When VR growth slowed in 2022 and VRChat’s growth slowed along with it, we were faced with the challenge of continuing to grow despite key markets that needed longer to mature. Our solution this year was to build a product organization that would allow us to continue to grow despite market conditions.
Gaylor also explained that VR Chat hasn’t maintained its “2021 levels of growth,” with the CEO noting that the platform has been “shrinking year over year” and that “the organization and burnout have become too large relative to the scale of our revenue and product, with a large team with a small user base.”
Despite the dire news, the CEO is looking to drive the platform forward with new leadership. “We have strong new product leadership, a clear mission to bring the magic of immersive social connection to billions of people, (and) a clear two- and five-year plan to achieve rocket-level success,” Gaylor said.
Glue Collaboration Ends, Operating Company Declares Bankruptcy
On April 8, 2024, the company that operates the virtual reality collaboration platform Glue declared bankruptcy, following a ruling by the Helsinki District Court.
Following this news, the company began the process of selling its assets, including the Glue platform. However, Glue was temporarily shut down because no new company was acquired at the time. The company said it tried its best to avoid this situation, but was unable to find a timely solution.
The current version of the Glue platform is 2.0, allowing users to take advantage of a variety of remote meeting tools, such as virtual spaces, customizable assets, and presentation tools. In particular, the service has been adopted by companies such as T-Mobile, which has praised its success.
But despite the tough times, Glue appears to be in a position to find new life. Hyperspace recently acquired the platform, hoping to help it reach its former level of success.
Mozilla to Discontinue Hub Service
Earlier this year, Mozilla announced that it was shutting down the Hubs virtual platform, including the Hubs Demo Server, Managed Subscriptions, and community resources. Mozilla’s web browser developer said the decision was the result of a restructuring across the organization.
The hub was shut down on May 31, 2024, and new subscription creation was disabled and turned off. Additionally, a new tool to download data was made available for demo users and subscribers on April 1, 2024.
Mozilla has stated that active development and maintenance of the Hub’s codebase and alternative community resources will cease after the service is shut down.
In a blog post from the Mozilla Hubs Team, the company reassured users that supporting them during this transition is their top priority, saying:
This will be a multi-month process with three members of the Hubs team overseeing the transition. We look forward to having more time to reflect on the entire history of the Hubs project, what was successful, what was lacking, our feelings about the project’s end, and the overall legacy of Hubs. But right now, our only goal is to hear this sad news and support those of you who have lovingly supported us for the past six years.
The decision to close the hub marks a significant departure from Mozilla’s expansion plans announced in July last year, which aimed to expand the platform’s reach to more education and corporate users at a regional level.
Mozilla Hubs has been available to the community for over five years, allowing you to create virtual worlds, upload assets, and organize meetings.
According to Mozilla, the Hubs community has created 115,732 avatars, 215,923 scenes, and hosted meetings for nearly 10 million attendees, which represents a significant amount of creativity and innovation. Many of the Hubs team members will be moving to the Discord server, with three employees remaining to support customers during the transition.
Meta, Horizon Downsize Operations Amid Declining User Base
As of March 30, Meta has removed Horizon Workrooms features, including interactive whiteboards, custom poster logos/environments/layouts, chat files/links, and tracked keyboards. Meta has also removed all user data associated with these features.
Meta, on the other hand, appears to be looking to breathe new life into its Workrooms platform after a general lull in interest in its Metaverse ambitions, as evidenced by Meta’s last Connect event. CEO Mark Zuckerberg Just briefly mentioning Horizon: Worlds, it’s clear that the platform is being developed in the background.
Meta Connect 2024 is fast approaching as the year progresses. The Menlo Park-based company is actively developing immersive software and hardware and has big announcements coming up.
New optimizations for Workrooms may highlight how Meta is developing its Metaverse platform, which is poised to make a big splash later this year. Workroom users can now experience upgraded features such as a new experience, improved meeting management options, better screen sharing, and optimized virtual screens.
Meta has not announced any further updates to the broader Horizon Worlds platform, but the company may follow suit as it works to optimize the Quest ecosystem, with new key partnerships in place in 2024.
Metaverse was noticeably absent from last year’s Connect 2023 showcase, with CEO Mark Zuckerberg noting that the company had not forgotten about the technology and Horizon services. Still, the lack of news on Metaverse was notable compared to last year, when there was a lot of focus on Metaverse and big promises made.
Since last year’s Connect event, Metaverse has faced significant setbacks. The technology has failed to launch and has struggled to maintain interest from XR and broader audiences. Metaverse has also lost a lot of media attention due to the hype surrounding its generative AI technology.
As the two waves of hype are subsiding, companies like Meta are starting to see the potential for AI and XR to work together. In terms of the Metaverse, Zuckerberg talked about how AI will drive core usability. The CEO said:
We will also be building a sandbox that will be released next year where anyone can experiment with building their own AI – as the world of AI continues to grow and evolve, we will bring this sandbox into the metaverse, giving people the opportunity to build AI that adopts increasingly higher levels of realism, embodiment, and connectivity.
Additionally, a report from earlier this year showed that the Meta Horizon platform’s user base was declining sharply.
Microsoft Shuts Down AltspaceVR
Last year, Microsoft shut down AltspaceVR in favor of its Teams integrated Mesh virtual collaboration service. Microsoft acquired the service in 2017 after launching it in May 2015. The Metaverse service gained popularity over the years, but competition has increased, leading Microsoft to decide to shut down the service on March 10, 2023.
After the closure, Microsoft shifted most of its remaining staff and resources to developing Mesh. The relocated Altspace VR team said it would contribute to building a Mesh platform that provides “the broadest opportunity for all stakeholders, including creators, partners, and customers.”
Microsoft already had AltSpace VR running through its Mesh development team, allowing for simple resource transfers. However, Microsoft’s immersive division has been facing constant difficulties since mid-2022, casting doubt on some of the company’s XR projects.
For example, Microsoft has gradually stopped developing its Mixed Reality Toolkit (MRTK) software development kit, and Hololens has also been facing serious problems since a management reshuffle in the middle of last year.
Nearly a year after shutting down its Metaverse platform, Microsoft is refining the technology as an alternative 2D digital meeting tool for Teams users and breathing new life into its XR ambitions.
What does the future of the metaverse look like?
Despite the many obstacles, it’s worth noting that many immersive meeting and metaverse services, including Engage for enterprise and Roblox for consumers, are growing steadily.
But the market is clearly changing. Technology trends and terminology change from year to year, and the technology stack that powers the Metaverse platform is taking hold in industrial Metaverse and spatial computing workflows. As such, its impact is being felt and has already changed the way professionals communicate, even if the initial incarnation of Metaverse is not central.
But the field can change quickly again. Meta Connect 2024 is coming up, and the company can recharge Metaverse ahead of the new year to work with new MR, AI, and education solutions.
Can the metaverse recover? It has. NVIDIA GTC showed how technology is evolving to drive simulation and 3D collaboration. But as hardware gets smaller and easier to use, the mainstream image of the metaverse could revive itself, especially as next-generation computers grow to normalize 3D online platforms.