While China is looking to build a $52 billion metaverse industry by 2025, Microsoft has discontinued a project that was initially aimed at encouraging the use of the metaverse in industrial environments.
According to The Information, the announcement to end the project came just four months after it was formed.
The report also indicates that the team of 100 individuals have been laid off. Apparently, Microsoft is looking to prioritise shorter-term projects over those that need an extensive duration to generate good revenue.
Metaverse plans
In a conversation with CoinDesk, the Windows company said, “Microsoft remains committed to the industrial metaverse. We are applying our focus to the areas of the industrial metaverse that matter most to our customers and they will see no change in how they are supported. We look forward to sharing additional information in the future.”
Microsoft first formed the Industrial Metaverse Core team in October 2022 to work with clients in health care, retail financial services and energy, among other industries. The aim was to build software interfaces that could be used to drive and improve other metaverse-related projects.
The cuts from its industrial metaverse project were part of the company’s broader move of cutting off 10,000 jobs last month, which is around 4.5% of its workforce.
The metaverse is a nascent space that’s currently being developed by behemoth tech companies across the globe and is intended to allow people to interact with friends and family in a computer-generated and multidimensional virtual world.
Isa Muhammad is a writer and video game journalist covering many aspects of entertainment media including the film industry. He's steadily writing his way to the sharp end of journalism and enjoys staying informed. If he's not reading, playing video games or catching up on his favourite TV series, then he's probably writing about them.
