Microsoftyour announced, on January 20, the closure, on March 10, of AltSpaceVRthe social platform of virtual reality (VR) which it had bought in 2017. In a difficult economic context, marked by the dismissal of 11,000 employeesthe technology giant prefer to focus on Mesh developmentits collaborative mixed reality platform unveiled in 2021.
AltSpaceVR closes its doors
” We can’t wait for what lies ahead, especially with the launch of Microsoft Mesh », note the American company in its press release. She adds that “ in the short term, we are focusing our efforts on VR about workplace experiences, learning from our early customers and partners and ensuring we provide a secure foundation. Over time, we hope to extend our efforts to consumer experiences “.
We have some sad news, Altspacers. #AltspaceVR is shutting down on March 10th.
Though we hate saying goodbye, we also feel such pride and gratitude for all the magic that happened here. ✨
Thanks for joining us on this epic adventure. #socialvr https://t.co/peCwpaaBl3
—AltspaceVR (@AltspaceVR) January 20, 2023
This decision marks Microsoft’s desire reduce spending in the metaverse. According to the American media Windows Centralto achieve this, the Redmond-based company would have thanked all the teams behind AltSpaceVR and its Mixed Reality Toolkit.
Microsoft is in bad shape
Ultimately, according to sky newsMicrosoft plans to part ways about 5% of its 220,000 employees. Among the most affected divisions is engineering, and in particular those responsible for consulting and solutions for customers and partners.
Last October, Satya Nadella, CEO of the company, spoke of an environment hit by ” growing headwinds “. He explained that ” the next two years will probably be the most difficult. We’ve had strong growth during the pandemic, and there’s some normalization of that demand. On top of that there is a real recession in some parts of the world “. Microsoft’s next quarterly results are scheduled for January 24.
