Is the Metaverse Dead?
- Liron Dorfman
- 1 day ago
- 4 min read
The metaverse has evolved from an ambitious vision of a shared virtual world into a collection of practical business applications. Today, organizations create value through immersive training, virtual collaboration, digital product demonstrations, and simulations, showing that focused use cases often deliver greater impact than broad technological promises.
It was on October 28, 2021, that Mark Zuckerberg, CEO and founder of "Facebook," announced at a company event that its name would, from that day forward, be "Meta" ("Meta Platforms," to be precise). On that occasion, he explained that the company sees the metaverse as central to its future and even presented the new direction as a shift from "Facebook-first" to "metaverse-first".
The Promise and the Initial Buzz
In the months following the announcement, it seemed as though the metaverse was about to become the next stage of everyone's online activity: an immersive, three-dimensional experience that moved beyond staring at a flat screen. Commentators, technology companies, investors, and content creators tried to explain what life would look like in a world where the boundary between physical and digital reality blurs, and how fields such as commerce, education, remote work, and entertainment would take new forms. Even the language surrounding the topic heralded the dawn of a new era: people spoke of "the future," "the next revolution," and "the next generation of the internet."
Even then, however, it was possible to identify a gap between the promise and the reality. For the metaverse to become an everyday space, more comfortable and affordable hardware was needed, along with compelling content, shared standards, and a genuine reason for people to choose to spend extended time in such a world. In other words, there was extensive public relations activity, the air was full of imagination, and the topic generated great interest — but far less was said about the existence of actual evidence that the general public was truly ready to embrace the vision quickly.
At the time, the announcement felt like a historic moment. It was not merely a name change, but an attempt to mark the next generation of the internet: an immersive, three-dimensional, and persistent digital world in which people would work, learn, play, shop, and meet through avatars and dedicated devices. The media buzz was enormous, and within just a few weeks, the term "metaverse" transformed from a professional term into an international buzzword, quickly generating news coverage, commentary, and explanations in Israel as well.
What Happened When the Enthusiasm Faded
Over time, the hype faded. The word "metaverse" no longer holds the same central place in the technological discourse. In its place, more mention was made of concepts such as "virtual reality," "augmented reality", "smart glasses," and dedicated tools for work, learning, and training. This did not happen because the technology disappeared, but because the overall vision proved to be complex. The metaverse, which relied on integrating physical and digital realities and on real-time interaction in shared three-dimensional environments, turned out to be a more expensive and slower tool to implement than initially promised.
One of the most prominent examples of this is Meta itself. The "Reality Labs" division, which focuses on virtual and augmented reality activities, has incurred heavy losses since 2020, with losses intensifying following the announcement of the shift in focus to the metaverse in October 2021. It closed 2025 with a loss of approximately $19.2 billion and sales of only $2.2 billion — far below expectations.
In discussions with investors, the word "metaverse" is no longer at the center, while AI receives significant attention in almost every area of activity. In plain terms, the vision has not been canceled. Still, it has shifted from an overarching promise and a clear business engine to an experimental field required to demonstrate tangible value.
Practical Applications in the Business World
Alongside the cooling of overall enthusiasm, practical uses of metaverse-related ideas can still be found in the business world. Several directions recur: employee training and guidance through simulations, three-dimensional product displays, digital stores or showrooms, and marketing experiences that allow customers to try products before purchasing.
One of the most practical uses today is professional training. In organizations, virtual reality can be used for safety drills, service training, learning complex processes, and training employees without disrupting real operations or endangering equipment or people. This carries a clear advantage, especially in fields where a real-time mistake can be costly. In medical organizations, for example, it is possible to evaluate new medical equipment, practice complex patient care procedures, and teach employees to use advanced instrumentation without endangering human lives.
In parallel, the technology enables experiential marketing by presenting products in virtual spaces, emphasizing hands-on experience over conventional advertising messages.
Engagement with the metaverse today is focused on specific applications: training environments, digital stores, and three-dimensional simulations using smart glasses. The idea has not disappeared but has undergone maturation. Even if the term itself is less popular in public discourse today, some of its components continue to evolve within products and services that may themselves become part of our daily routine in the future.
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