Popular family entertainment giant Disney is redirecting its efforts away from Web3 as part of a restructuring plan. The plan includes shutting down its metaverse unit as well as slashing operational costs by $5.5 billion! 

The decision came after consulting with McKinsey & Company. The media company approached McKinsey & Co. for help because of the unfavorable market conditions and increased competition in streaming services.

Following the consultation, it decided to change direction, cut expenses, and reduce headcount. 

Wall Street Journal (WSJ) stated that all the department’s team members (about 50) will be let go except Mark White. Mark was the division head and also led the consumer products unit.  Although, it’s still not clear what his next role in the company will be.

In addition to this first round of layoffs, Disney is also retrenching 7,000 staff over the next two months. Those affected are mostly in its retail, cruise line, and theme park divisions.

On December 28, 2021, Disney patented a “virtual-world simulator” to deliver high-tech augmented reality (AR) for its Disney theme parks. It also talked about blending metaverse with sports betting, but that’s as far as the idea got.

Under Bob Chapek’s leadership, it created the metaverse division naming Mark White the SVP of Next Generation Storytelling and Consumer Experiences. After that, it created NFTs in September 2022 and indicated an interest in hiring an attorney experienced with “emerging technologies, NFTs, and decentralized finance’’. 

Moving forward, Disney is unsure of its place in the Web3 world and has been silent on its future plans in that regard. Its priority at the moment is the newly established business – Media and Entertainment Distribution. The Media and Entertainment Distribution will oversee its streaming services, including ESPN+, Disney+, and Hulu. 

While we hate to see them pull the plug on the metaverse project, this is part of a bigger strategy. It will help the brand focus on its content which is why families love them in the first place.

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The metaverse embodies a captivating vision of a persistent, interconnected 3D online universe that seamlessly integrates various virtual spaces. It can be envisioned as a future evolution of the internet, offering an immersive and collaborative experience to its users. Within the metaverse, individuals will be able to work, socialize, game, and conduct meetings, blurring the boundaries between the physical and digital realms.

While the metaverse has not yet fully materialized, certain platforms already exhibit metaverse-like attributes, with video games at the forefront of this experience. Game developers have been at the forefront of pushing the boundaries, hosting in-game events and creating complex virtual economies, elevating the gaming experience to more than just entertainment.

Existing virtual video game worlds such as Second Life, Fortnite, and work-oriented platforms like Gathertown exemplify some aspects of the metaverse. These platforms bring together diverse elements of users’ lives, fostering social interactions and creative exploration. Although not entirely the metaverse, they offer glimpses into the potential of this futuristic concept.

Beyond its application in gaming and social media, the metaverse is set to encompass economies, digital identity systems, decentralized governance structures, and a myriad of other innovative applications. Presently, user-driven content creation and ownership of valuable items and digital currencies lay the groundwork for a more unified and comprehensive metaverse. Blockchain technology, with its decentralized and secure nature, holds the promise to underpin the infrastructure of this evolving technology, empowering users to have true ownership and control over their virtual assets.

As technology continues to advance, the metaverse stands as a compelling vision that could reshape the way we interact with digital environments and redefine the boundaries of our online experiences. The journey towards the metaverse is an exciting one, filled with opportunities for collaboration, innovation, and the creation of a digital universe that transcends the limits of imagination.

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