Microsoft Layoffs Reportedly Hit Key VR and Metaverse Teams – Metaverse

The latest round of layoffs at Microsoft, which has announced plans to cut 10,000 jobs this year, has reportedly hit key teams for its VR (virtual reality) and Metaverse efforts. The company will complete two projects in these areas, Altspacevr and the Mixed Reality Tool Kit, potentially affecting Microsoft's progress in these areas.

Microsoft VR and Metaverse teams hit by layoffs

The final round of layoffs announced from Microsoft on January 18th allegedly Hit metaverse and virtual reality (VR) initiatives of the company, potentially impacting progress in these areas. Among the 10,000 jobs set to be eliminated this year, representing 5% of Microsoft's global workforce, teams behind initiatives such as Altspacevr and the Mixed Reality Tool Kit will be eliminated as part of this restructuring process.

Altspacevr, which was acquired by Microsoft in 2017, has already announced this sunset its platform on March 10th. The platform, which aimed to provide services to facilitate the creation of virtual environments for events with the participation of artists, creators, brands and companies, will migrate to Mesh, a more work-focused platform that has integration with Microsoft Teams.

The Mixed Reality Tool Kit, an open source set of Tool Creating user interfaces for the Metaverse is also reportedly being abandoned, as there are no announcements of new teams dedicated to its development at the time of writing.

Metaverse and VR slowdown

While the company justified these layoffs as a measure to align its cost structure with sales and customer demand, some believe that these localized layoffs in the Metaverse and VR sectors signal the slowing of the company's progress in this area.

The reported layoffs at Microsoft involve initiatives primarily focused on the consumer metaverse, following the course set by Meta put down 13% of the workforce, resulting in 11,000 job cuts.

However, Microsoft executives believe in the Metaverse and other disruptive technologies and the progress they will bring in the future. Recently, Satya Nadella, CEO of the company, stated that the sense of presence that Metaverse technology can bring is groundbreaking.

Microsoft is too involved in the creation of the Global Collaboration Village – the metaverse world of the World Economic Forum (WEF) – and has shown interest in investing in AI (artificial intelligence) projects such as Openai, the creators of the AI ​​bot Chatgpt.

What are your thoughts on the layoffs affecting Metaverse and VR-focused teams at Microsoft? Tell us in the comments section below.

Sergio Goschenko

Sergio is a cryptocurrency journalist based in Venezuela. He describes himself as late to the game, entering the cryptosphere when the price surge occurred in December 2017. He has a background as a computer engineer, lives in Venezuela and is affected by the cryptocurrency boom on a social level. He offers a different perspective on crypto success and how it helps the unbanked and underserved.

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