• Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney mocks the claim that the metaverse is dead.
• 600 million users use virtual worlds like Fortnite, Minecraft, Roblox, The Sandbox, and VRChat every month.
• Sweeney called on supporters to organize an “online wake” for the metaverse’s passing.
Epic Games CEO Mocks Claim That Metaverse Is Dead
Gaming industry giant Tim Sweeney, CEO of Epic Games, didn’t hold back in mocking a recent claim that the metaverse has become extinct. Through a tweet on May 9th, he criticized PR agency CEO Ed Zitron’s article titled “RIP Metaverse, we hardly knew ye” which was printed by Insider earlier this week. In his article, Zitron claimed that Horizon Worlds – Meta’s virtual reality platform – hasn’t lived up to its promise of becoming the internet of the future. Contrary to this belief, Sweeney argued that 600 million people use virtual worlds like Fortnite monthly and asked supporters to organize an “online wake” for it.
What Is The Metaverse?
The “metaverse” is used to describe a virtual reality realm where people can interact with each other using avatars. It is believed by some people (including Mark Zuckerberg) that it will be the future of online interaction and communication between people in different parts of the world.
Mark Zuckerberg’s Declaration About The Future Of Facebook And The Digital Landscape
In late 2021 Mark Zuckerberg declared that Facebook would be changed to Meta and shifted his focus towards the metaverse as he saw it as its future. This shift in focus made many believe that Zuckerberg had big plans for this new technology but unfortunately these have yet to come true according to Ed Zitron’s claims.
Sweeney’s Response To Zitron’s Article
Tim Sweeney responded to Zitron’s article via Twitter on May 9th by mocking his claims about Horizon Worlds not living up its promise and stated that 600 million people were still using platforms such as Fortnite, Minecraft etc monthly thus proving otherwise. He then proceeded by asking supporters of these platforms to organize an “online wake” for it so those 600 million users could mourn together in real-time 3D .
Conclusion
Overall it seems safe to say there are differing opinions on what exactly constitutes a successful version of the metaverse but there is still significant support from those who use these virtual worlds every month with no sign of slowing down anytime soon; at least according to what Tim Sweeney believes regarding this matter!