Neal Stephenson’s blockchain project holds discovery month as metaverse hype wanes

The blockchain task launched by Neal Stephenson, who coined the word “metaverse” successful his 1992 publication Snow Crash, is pushing guardant with its imaginativeness contempt the little involvement successful the metaverse and immoderate declaring that it’s “dead.” 

Compared to its highest successful 2021 and 2022, hunt involvement for the metaverse has declined successful 2023, according to information from Google Trends. The lowering involvement successful the metaverse has besides led immoderate to declare that the metaverse hype is dead.

Global hunt involvement for the keyword "metaverse." Source: Google Trends

Despite the waning involvement and the declarations that it’s dead, immoderate proceed to support their heads down and build. In a statement, Lamina1, the metaverse blockchain task founded by Stephenson, said it’s holding a month-long lawsuit called the Open Metaverse Discovery Month successful October. The steadfast volition clasp workshops and supply associated quests and bounties to equip builders and creators with the cognition to research metaverse experiences.

— LAMINA1 (@Lamina1official) September 29, 2023

“We’re co-hosting 2 interactive workshops for Unity and Unreal Engine developers this period to statesman diving successful with the toolkit, arsenic good arsenic 2 Creator Competitions that volition let participants to person their creation and experiences featured connected our LAMINA1 Hub platform,” the Lamina1 squad said. 

Related: Metaverse sneak peek: Project aims to physique a creator-focused system done blockchain

Rebecca Barkin, the CEO of Lamina1, remains optimistic successful the metaverse contempt assumptions that it’s dead. Barkin told Cointelegraph successful a connection that contempt the crypto wintertime and what galore picture arsenic the “death of the metaverse,” they were capable to pull astir 50,000 builders into their assemblage since they launched the project.

Barkin is optimistic that their founder’s imaginativeness of the metaverse volition past arsenic agelong arsenic determination are radical consenting to put their clip and money. The enforcement told Cointelegraph:

“As agelong arsenic radical proceed to put clip and wealth successful integer experiences, gaming and virtual worldbuilding, buying and selling integer items, and experimenting with caller computing and originative technologies, the metaverse volition proceed to travel to life.” 

According to Barkin, Stephenson’s imaginativeness of the metaverse wasn’t conscionable astir gathering virtual worlds. The Lamina1 CEO said it’s astir challenging “corporate greed and control.” She added that with today’s technology, it’s present imaginable to “give much autonomy to creators crossed entertainment, gaming, commerce, fashion, and beyond to build, create, and administer these worlds connected their own.”

Magazine: Web3 Gamer: Zuckerberg’s metaverse losses, NFT crippled connected Discord, Gods Unchained blistery take