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The metaverse team at Disney has been laid off as a part of its company-wide staff reduction.
What Is Happening To Metaverse Projects?
Is the metaverse dream crashing? After Meta shelving its NFT project, Disney has been the next to cull its metaverse plans. According to the latest reports, the entertainment giant recently terminated 50 people who comprised its metaverse team in what the company is calling an attempt to control costs. CEO Bob Iger has called for the need for a streamlined business, and the company is in the process of laying off over 7,000 staff members from its entire roster as a part of this initiative. It looks like the metaverse team was just part of the casualties.
It is clear that even Disney is not shielded from the economic downturn impacting large companies and has been forced to rethink expensive dream projects which are not bringing in any immediate revenue.
Disney's Web3 Initiatives
However, letting go of the metaverse team might indicate an issue deeper than the need to “streamline” business operations. It is clear that the company is questioning the continued value of Web3.
The conglomerate had jumped on the Web3 bandwagon, much like all other major entertainment companies. Even though 2022 was a tough year for crypto, that was the year Disney chose to embark on its metaverse journey. The company started off by selecting Polygon as its blockchain partner. It also underwent rampant resource deployment for Web3 and started hiring initiatives for several positions; one of these include an in-house legal counseling position involving NFTs, blockchain, metaverse, and DeFi.
Metaverse Shelved With Leadership Changes
In February 2022, the former CEO of Disney, Bob Chapek, brought Mike White, who used to be the SVP of consumer experiences and platforms, to head the metaverse division. White was charged with spearheading Disney’s Web3 expansion by developing interactive storytelling using Disney’s extensive library of intellectual property.
Soon after, in November 2022, Iger took over the company’s leadership from Chapek and, despite recent developments, appeared quite bullish on the metaverse.
However, last month the company announced that budget cuts for around $5.5 billion would soon be happening in the company, which would mean eliminating around 7000 jobs as a part of a broader restructuring. The entire metaverse team, other than White, has been let go, according to reports. Although White has retained his job, it is uncertain what his new position at the company is going to be.
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