Mickey Mouse is getting ready to enter the metaverse.
Bob Chapek, the CEO of Walt Disney (DIS.N), said the entertainment group is poised to take the technological leap into a virtual reality world first imagined by science fiction writers.
Since Facebook (FB.O) CEO Mark Zuckerberg said that the future of his firm would be devoted to establishing a robust, three-dimensional environment where users’ digital avatars could work, hang out, and pursue their interests, it has become a popular destination.
Other major corporations are developing their own metaverses, including game developers Roblox Corp (RBLX.N) and Epic Games, as well as software giant Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O). Aside from mentioning a phrase that has enthralled Silicon Valley, Disney’s strategy was noticeably lacking in specifics.
Chapek told investors on Wednesday that Disney’s foray into the digital realm is in keeping with the company’s long history of technological advancements, which dates back nearly a century to Steamboat Willie, the first cartoon to incorporate synchronized sound.
Tilak Mandadi, Disney’s former senior vice president of digital, wrote on LinkedIn in 2020 about developing a theme park metaverse in which the “real and digital worlds collide” via wearable gadgets, smartphones, and digital access points. Disney’s internet forays haven’t all ended happily. Club Penguin, the company’s online children’s social network, was shut down in 2017 after 11 years. Its debut into social gaming in 2010, when it paid $563.2 million for Playdom, resulting in a write-down. Its $500 million acquisition of Maker Studios in 2014 to capitalize on the exploding popularity of short-form YouTube videos resulted in the operation being integrated into other divisions of the company.
