‘Disney stops metaverse department’

Disney appears to be discontinuing the division that built applications for the metaverse. The department, which employed fifty people, has been closed as part of a larger reorganization. A reason for the cancellation is not known.

According to sources from The Wall Street Journal the department that was supposed to create ‘next generation storytelling’ has been closed down. This is a division within the entertainment company that, among other things, worked on stories and other content in the metaverse and other digital formats. About fifty employees worked at that part of Disney.

Disney founded the division in February 2022. The department was led by Mike White, who previously worked on major titles within the company. Since then, however, there have been few updates on what plans the department had for the metaverse. The company hinted that the metaverse applications could include attractions from the Disneyland parks and that sports applications could be created, but no concrete demos or even concepts were ever presented.

The division was scrapped as part of a recent major reorganization at Disney. 7,000 employees were dismissed. It is not known why specifically the Metaverse division is being discontinued, but the popularity and interest in Metaverse applications has been much lower than tech companies would hope for years.