Disney, the entertainment giant known for its popular franchises and theme parks, has decided to put its metaverse plans on hold.
The company’s “next-generation storytelling and consumer experiences” division was tasked with exploring metaverse strategies but will now be eliminated as part of Disney’s restructuring plan. The company plans to reduce its headcount by nearly 7,000 across the board over the next two months.
The metaverse division had almost 50 members, and all of them have lost their jobs. The division’s head, Mike White, was promoted to the role of Senior Vice President of Consumer Experiences and Platforms in February 2022, with the goal of getting the entertainment company deeper into the web3 space. While White hasn’t been let go in the downsizing, his future role is still unclear.
Reports suggest that Disney was under tremendous pressure from investors to cut non-essential businesses. The company brought in consultants from McKinsey & Co. to assist with cost-cutting opportunities, but this move was not welcomed by some top content executives.
The decision to end metaverse plans reflects a growing trend in the industry, with many tech companies struggling to generate near-term revenue from their metaverse projects.
Despite this, Meta, the company formerly known as Facebook, has no plans to downsize or eliminate its metaverse efforts. The team expects full-year losses for the division to increase in 2023 and plans to invest “meaningfully” in this area.
While the metaverse may be a long-term bet, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is playing the long game. He has stated that he believes the metaverse will be a very important thing, and that people will look back a decade from now and talk about the importance of the work being done in this area.
