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| Dear Metaverse Insiders, 🌟 In today's newsletter, we delve into Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney's metaverse vision despite recent layoffs, shine a spotlight on the top internet giants by market capitalization, and discuss Meta's exciting introduction of text chat (🗨️ "world chat") in Horizon Worlds, enabling text-based communication within the virtual realm. Plus, there's a lot more in store for you! Don't forget to check out our Quick Hits ⚡ and Upcoming Events 📅 sections below. 💬 Your feedback is invaluable! Please feel free to hit reply and share your insights with us. 👥 Are you finding value in our insights? Help us grow by spreading the word and sharing this newsletter with your network. ❤️ Thank you for being an integral part of our Insider community! Vildana
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| 1 | | Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney envisions the metaverse as the next major evolution in gaming and Epic's future. However, the company recently laid off 16% of its workforce due to the high costs of metaverse development. More: - Epic aims to profit in the metaverse through creator content, sharing 40% of net revenue with creators.
- Fortnite, Epic's metaverse platform, boasts around 70 million monthly active users as of March 2023.
- Companies have scaled back metaverse ambitions due to high costs and slow technological development.
- Meta (formerly Facebook) also faced layoffs after investing heavily in the metaverse.
- Epic previously faced financial challenges, including a $520M fine from the FTC for privacy violations.
Zoom Out: - Epic raised $1B from Sony and Kirkbi in 2022 to create a kid-friendly metaverse platform, valuing the company at $31.5B.
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| 3 | | Meta is rolling out text chat (dubbed "world chat") in Horizon Worlds, enabling voiceless communication in the virtual environment. The feature was initially introduced in a limited capacity in June, expanding to all users this week. More: - Quick replies are available to streamline messaging within VR.
- Meta seeks to enhance the Horizon Worlds experience amid reported user retention challenges.
- Improvements include world chat, enhanced moderation tools, and the addition of avatar legs.
- Horizon Worlds faces competition from social apps like Roblox and Fortnite.
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| 4 | | Meta, the parent company of Facebook, is set to lay off employees from its Reality Labs division focused on metaverse silicon, which could impact its AR/VR ambitions. The extent of cuts to the silicon unit, known as Facebook Agile Silicon Team (FAST), is undisclosed. More: - With approximately 600 employees, the FAST unit aimed to develop custom chips for Meta's AR/VR devices.
- Employees were notified through Meta's internal discussion forum.
- Meta has faced challenges competing with external chip providers and has turned to Qualcomm for chip production.
Zoom Out: - Last quarter, Meta's VR and AR products brought in just $276M, while Reality Labs lost $3.7B.
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| 5 | | Immersed canceled Visor's cheaper 2.5K per eye model, an ultra-compact productivity headset with OLED microdisplays, hand tracking, and eye tracking, originally announced in August. Visor, set to release in 2024, offers inside-out tracking, HD color passthrough, and integrated inside-out tracking. More: - The headset comes with a compute puck, battery, and support for wireless monitor streaming.
- Immersed opened deposits for two models: 2.5K per eye for $500 and 4K per eye for $750, but the 2.5K model has been discontinued due to 96% of customers choosing the higher-resolution option.
- Visor promises "all day" comfort, a compact form factor, and a weight less than a typical smartphone.
- The device results from collaborating with Qualcomm, Intel, and an undisclosed AR/VR tech giant.
- Customization includes matching lens spacing to each user's interpupillary distance.
Zoom Out: -
Immersed provides a free app for Meta Quest, Vive Focus 3, and Pico 4, allowing users to display their PC monitors in VR and create up to five entirely virtual additional monitors. | | | |
| 6 | | Lamina1, the metaverse blockchain project founded by Neal Stephenson, who coined the term "metaverse," is holding Open Metaverse Discovery Month in October. It plans to offer workshops, joint quests, and bounties to equip creators for metaverse exploration. More: - Lamina1 is co-hosting workshops for Unity and Unreal Engine developers and Creator Competitions to feature participants' art and experiences on its platform.
- Rebecca Barkin, CEO of Lamina1, remains optimistic about the metaverse's future, emphasizing that it will thrive if people invest in digital experiences, gaming, and virtual worldbuilding.
- Barkin highlights that Stephenson's metaverse vision challenges corporate control and enables creators across various industries to autonomously build and distribute digital worlds.
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| 7 | | QUICK HITS *This is sponsored content. | | | |
| Upcoming Events | | OCT
12 | | Panel discussion on cybersecurity insights for financial services companies* | | | | | | | OCT
16 | | Meet Our Fund 5, Building and Investing in AI | | | | | | * This is a sponsored event | | | |
Term of the Day January Effect: The January Effect is a seasonal increase in stock prices that tends to happen in January. Question of the Week Do you share details about your salary with your coworkers? Join the conversation |
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