Facebook went all in on the “metaverse” a year and a half ago. The company changed its name to Meta and started pumping a billion dollars a month into a Hail Maryboondoggle to achieve relevance in the post-social world to come.
Now Meta finds itself entering a “metaverse winter” — a general decline in investment and excitement around the idea. Meta itself has laid off thousands in its metaverse and social businesses alike.