metaverse

According to a report by The New York Times cited by Jinshi Data, three informed employees stated that Meta Platforms (META.O) is considering layoffs in a branch of its Reality Labs division that is engaged in "metaverse" business, potentially starting as early as next month, affecting 10% to 30% of the team. This team is primarily responsible for VR headsets and VR-based social networks. Reality Labs consists of the metaverse division and the wearable devices division.Insiders indicated that management expects to reinvest the funds saved from the layoffs into the AR glasses project. Meta launched AR glasses in collaboration with Ray-Ban in 2021, and their sales have exceeded the company's internal targets. Sources say that Meta is reassessing its investments related to the metaverse, and within the metaverse division, executives are considering significant cuts to VR-related positions.

Streaming service giant Netflix has announced the acquisition of the metaverse identity platform Ready Player Me, which is backed by a16z. The specific acquisition amount and terms have not been disclosed. It is reported that Ready Player Me will cease operations on January 31, 2026, and all team members will be integrated into Netflix.According to previous reports, Ready Player Me has raised approximately $72 million in investments, with several industry notable figures such as Roblox co-founder David Baszucki, Twitch co-founder Justin Kan, and GitHub co-founder Tom Preston-Werner being investors in the company.

The metaverse game ChronoForge announced on platform X that it will cease operations on December 30, citing "a lot of resistance," including funding shortages, which forced the founders to self-fund development since July and lay off 80% of the staff.ChronoForge is an NFT adventure project that offers 7,500 unique playable characters and mini-games. ChronoForge is developed by Minted Loot Studios and overseen by its affiliated entity, Rift Foundation, which is responsible for the game's tokens and ecosystem. The project became active in 2022 when it launched its first NFT collection and began early community-building efforts.

Under favorable news such as Zuckerberg's cut in metaverse spending, the stock token METAx surged 6% during the day.METAx is one of the over ten on-chain stock tokens xStocks supported by the Bybit platform, allowing Bybit users to trade 24/7 and enjoy ample liquidity.

According to Jinshi News, at the opening of the US stock market, the Dow Jones rose by 0.11%, the S&P 500 index rose by 0.21%, and the Nasdaq rose by 0.31%. Meta Platforms (META.O) rose over 5%, with CEO Zuckerberg planning to cut the Metaverse budget by up to 30%. Tiger Brokers (TIGR.O) rose by 8.5%, with third-quarter revenue increasing by 73% year-on-year.

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and five other departments issued the "Implementation Plan for Enhancing the Adaptability of Supply and Demand for Consumer Goods and Further Promoting Consumption." It proposes the orderly development of platform consumption. The orderly development of new business formats such as live e-commerce, instant retail, curated retail, and circular e-commerce is encouraged. Platform enterprises are encouraged to legally and compliantly utilize artificial intelligence technology to explore user needs and match and push products and services.Support platform enterprises in applying digital intelligence technologies such as virtual reality, the metaverse, artificial intelligence, and blockchain to create multi-scenario, immersive consumption experiences. Guide platform enterprises to carry out brand quality promotion activities for consumption. Strengthen the main responsibility of platform enterprises, enhance the qualification review of operators and the verification of product information, and improve the rapid processing mechanism for consumer disputes. (Jin Shi)

According to ChainCatcher news reported by Decrypt, Yuga Labs announced that the core social hub of its Bored Ape Yacht Club-themed metaverse project, Otherside, will officially open on November 12.The opening of the hub and social center is just the first layer of the three-tier architecture of this world. Next is the game layer, which will include numerous quests and battles created by developers and independent creators; there will also be the Otherside Development Kit (ODK), a toolkit for building and publishing works within the game world. In addition, Yuga Labs revealed that Otherside will be featured on the Amazon Games homepage, promoting its metaverse brand to millions of Amazon users.The company will collaborate with Amazon to launch an exclusive co-branded Voyager character named "Boximus," which can explore the Otherside metaverse. Related merchandise will be available for sale in the Otherside brand store starting Thursday. Yuga has also partnered with artist Daniel Arsham to release a limited edition collection of 300 pieces in the Voyager series, which combines exquisite artwork with interactive digital collectibles that can evolve over time.

ChainCatcher news, aixbt labs posted on social media that the AI agent aixbt can now query on the Base network via the x402 protocol. It is still in the testing phase, and full access will be launched this week.The queryable content includes rising projects on the X platform, emerging metaverse trends, and potential projects that have not yet attracted market attention.Perhaps influenced by this news, aixbt is currently priced at $0.0844, with a 24-hour increase of 32.8%.

ChainCatcher news, according to The Verge, Yuga Labs announced that the metaverse Otherside will launch on November 12.Otherside was planned for release in 2022, aiming to create an "interoperable," "gamified," and "decentralized" virtual world, but the Alpha version was not released until earlier this year. It is reported that Otherside is similar to Roblox or Fortnite, and will support logging in with a crypto wallet, with in-game avatars being 3D representations of the NFTs owned by players.

ChainCatcher news, according to market sources, The Sandbox founders Arthur Madrid and Sébastien Borget have stepped down from daily operations, with Animoca Brands CEO Robby Yung taking over as CEO.Borget will serve as a global ambassador, while Madrid will become the non-executive chairman. Meanwhile, the company has laid off over 50% of its staff, affecting teams in Argentina, Uruguay, South Korea, Thailand, and Turkey, and plans to close its office in Lyon, France, with further layoffs in Paris. This restructuring is seen as a strategic adjustment driven by technological advancements. Additionally, The Sandbox is gradually phasing out its metaverse business in favor of broader Web3 applications, including a memecoin launch platform based on Base.

ChainCatcher news, according to Jinshi reports, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, and the State Administration of Radio and Television have recently issued a notice to organize the recommendation of typical cases of the metaverse for 2025.The scope of recommendations includes typical digital human cases in the metaverse, typical product cases in the metaverse, typical park cases in the metaverse, and typical standard cases in the metaverse. The creative ideas, products, technologies, and related patents of the declared cases must belong to the declaring entity, which should have independent intellectual property rights and no intellectual property disputes.Among them, the declaring entity of the digital human cases must possess all intellectual property rights related to the virtual image involved in the case or have obtained legal authorization from the rights holder. The declared cases should have a high level of technology and complete practical application, with strong representativeness, innovation, and scalability, providing significant reference and promotional value for related industries or enterprises.

According to ChainCatcher news, as reported by Yicai, the General Office of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the General Office of the Ministry of Education, the General Office of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, and the General Office of the National Radio and Television Administration have issued a notice regarding the organization of the 2025 Metaverse Typical Case Recommendation Work. The scope of recommendations includes: typical digital human cases in the metaverse, typical product cases in the metaverse, typical park cases in the metaverse, and typical standard cases in the metaverse.