After being hot for a good part of last year, the metaverse is, at least for now, facing a “cooldown moment,” said Cathy Hackl, chief metaverse officer at innovation and design consultancy Journey and a speaker at Consensus 2023.

“A lot of us are continuing to build,” she said. The metaverse is a longer-term vision and one that she said is “going to be the future of the internet.” That’s despite brands deciding the metaverse is not for them. Most recently Disney shuttered its metaverse team as part of a company-wide contraction.