After Apple And Snap, Microsoft Gaming CEO Swipes At Zuckerberg's Metaverse: 'Poorly Built Video Game'

Microsoft Corporation's MSFT gaming CEO added fuel to the fire over the metaverse concept, started by other top executives from big tech firms like Snap Inc. SNAP and Apple Inc. AAPL in October 2022.

What Happened: During the ongoing Wall Street Journal Tech Live conference, Xbox chief Phil Spencer took a shot at Meta Platforms Inc.'s META vision of the metaverse, defining it as "a poorly built video game," reported The Verge. 

Spencer isn't the first or only person to push back on the idea of the metaverse. Earlier, Snap CEO Evan Spiegel and Apple's marketing chief Greg Joswiak echoed similar sentiments. 

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Walt Disney Co’s DIS CEO Bob Chapek went after the term "metaverse," saying the company avoided the word "because, for us, that's a big, broad term. For us, it's next-generation storytelling."

Despite the comments, Spencer feels there is some merit to the metaverse concept. "I tease a little bit in [saying it's] a bad video game. I just think we're early," he stated, noting that over time the metaverse is "going to end up looking a lot more like video games than some of the models that I see for the metaverse today."

Why It's Important: Microsoft is already discussing the metaverse for its own ends. The Redmond, Washington-based company earlier said that its pending Activision Blizzard acquisition would provide building blocks for the metaverse, the report noted. 

Meta hasn't made a convincing case in favor of its VR worlds. Meta employees barely use Horizon Worlds, and Mark Zuckerberg's widely memed avatar selfie hasn't done anything positive either. 

This story was originally published on Oct. 27, 2022.

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