Ugh, Zuckerberg's Metaverse Isn't as Dead as We All Hoped

The platform Meta has enjoyed 10x growth since it was rolled out to users in the US and Canada last December. The total number of users can be as high as 300,000 if you include those in the live events app, called Horizon Venues. The monthly user count does not include the other platform for conducting virtual reality meetings.

Meta's most ambitious virtual reality project yet is called Horizon Worlds. You can explore or play in existing worlds or create your own environments on the social platform. The app is free but requires a headset. There are more than 20,000 members in a private Facebook group for creators, Meta said earlier this week.

Meta has a long way to go to convince investors that it hasn't bet its future on vaporware. Facebook is losing younger users who are more engaged on other social platforms. The company changed its name to Meta in December of last year to regain the attention and created the metaverse, a theoretical virtual space that blends the real world with the digital through the use of virtual reality, augmented reality, and mixed reality. Meta plans to spend $10 billion this year in constructing this digital world, a huge investment for a company that no longer seems bulletproof.

Meta dropped out of the world's 10 largest companies rankings. Since September, the company has lost more than $500 billion in market value. It had $230 billion wiped out in one day after revealing the first-ever decline in daily active users. Meta's stock is the cheapest it has ever been according to some metrics.

Meta is pouring billions of dollars into this non-existent world and pushing the idea to nearly 3 billion Facebook users, so 300,000 users aren't going to change the minds of any metaverse doubters. Meta's virtual platform is growing at a slightly faster rate than Second Life, according to the author of the Making of Second Life.

It isn't clear whether Meta can maintain the growth it has shown since the Pandemic. Meta's Quest 2 has been sold out for weeks at a time after it was released in 2020. Meta hasn't disclosed how many headsets were purchased, but the number is 10 million.

Meta will need to iron out existing problems with the metaverse while making it a place people want to spend time in. Things got off to a rocky start when a tester reported being groped by a group of strangers. Meta added a Personal Boundary system to prevent further harassment.

Meta was criticized after technical issues prevented some users from accessing a virtual Foo Fighters concert. After hundreds of reviews, the three and two-star user ratings for Horizon Worlds and Horizon Venues are what it is worth.

The metaverse seems to be off to a good start, even though you need a $299 headset to play the game. Meta will bring a version of the digital world to mobile phones later this year.