Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney Dismisses Claims Metaverse is Dead
Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney has dismissed suggestions that the metaverse is dead, after Business Insider published an article by PR firm CEO Ed Zitron titled “RIP Metaverse, we hardly knew ye”. Sweeney, the creator of the Unreal Engine and Fortnite, took to Twitter on May 9 to mock the article, which claimed the “once-buzzy technology” had “died after being abandoned by the business world”.
Despite the claims, Sweeney pointed out that there are currently 600 million users across virtual world platforms such as Fortnite, Minecraft, Roblox, The Sandbox, and VR Chat, suggesting that the metaverse is still thriving. He even joked, “The metaverse is dead! Let’s organize an online wake so that we 600,000,000 monthly active users can mourn its passing together in real-time 3D”, which was echoed by Sandbox CEO Sebastien Borget.
Epic Games’ Investment in the Metaverse
In April 2022, Epic Games announced a $2 billion funding round to accelerate their plans for the metaverse, which included a $1 billion investment from Sony Group and KIRKBI, the holding company behind the LEGO Group. This investment came shortly after LEGO Group and Epic Games announced a long-term partnership to build a “family-friendly” metaverse. Although neither company has revealed their plans, LEGO Group CEO Niels Christiansen has confirmed that they are looking to announce more details about the collaboration in the near future.
The Business Insider Article
The Business Insider article specifically mentioned Meta’s virtual reality (VR) platform Horizon Worlds, Decentraland, and Yuga Labs’ Otherside as examples of metaverses that failed to live up to their hype. It claimed that investors had turned their attention to the next big tech fad – generative AI.
Conclusion
Despite claims that the metaverse is dying, the CEO of Epic Games, Tim Sweeney, and the 600 million users across virtual world platforms, suggest that it is still very much alive. With Epic Games and LEGO Group’s partnership, the metaverse’s future may be more exciting than ever before.
Key Points:
- Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney dismissed claims the metaverse is dead
- There are currently 600 million users across virtual world platforms such as Fortnite, Minecraft, Roblox, The Sandbox, and VR Chat
- Epic Games announced a $2 billion funding round to accelerate their plans for the metaverse, with a $1 billion investment from Sony Group and KIRKBI
- LEGO Group and Epic Games announced a long-term partnership to build a “family-friendly” metaverse
- The Business Insider article claimed that the “once-buzzy technology” had “died after being abandoned by the business world”
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