- Microsoft CEO Phil Spencer pokes at Meta’s Metaverse during the WSJ Tech Live Conference.
- Spencer calls Facebook’s metaverse a poorly built video game.
- Meta had been mocked in the past by tech giants like the CEOs of Snap and Walt Disney.
CEO of Microsoft Gaming, Phil Spencer, took a dig at Meta’s metaverse vision. At the WSJ Tech Live conference, Spencer described the metaverse as “a poorly built video game.”
In its rebranding from Facebook last year, Meta emphasized its focus on the metaverse, an area where the users both socialize with friends and collaborate with colleagues. Spencer appears to disagree with the metaverse’s work aspect.
Dwelling further into the features and appearances of the metaverse, Spencer said,
Video game creators have an amazing ability to build compelling worlds that we want to go spend time in. For me, building a metaverse that looks like a meeting room… I just find that’s not where I want to spend most of my time
There have been plenty of people who have pushed back on the idea of the metaverse, not just Spencer. Similar sentiments were expressed earlier by Snap Inc. CEO Evan Spiegel and Apple’s marketing chief Greg Joswiak.
The Walt Disney Co’s CEO, Bob Chapek, claimed the company avoided the term “metaverse” because it is “a big, broad term. For us, it’s next-generation storytelling.”
Although Spencer has some reservations about the concept, he believes it has some merit. “I tease a little bit in [stating that it’s] a bad video game. I just think we’re early,” he said, pointing out that the metaverse could look more like video games in the future than some of the current models.
Microsoft has already begun discussing the metaverse for its own purposes. Earlier, Microsoft indicated that its pending acquisition of Activision Blizzard would provide the building blocks for the metaverse.
Despite Meta’s promises, its VR worlds are yet to be convincing. Meta employees barely use Horizon Worlds, and Mark Zuckerberg’s widely mocked avatar selfie has not helped either.
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