Disney Plans to Become the Happiest Destination in the Metaverse

And Mickey Mouse is heading into the metaverse! With these words, Disney CEO Bob Chapek announced a new era of the company’s business as it prepares for a technological leap into the virtual universe. Since Facebook (Meta) CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that his company would now be dedicated to developing that robust, three-dimensional universe where digital avatars will work and live, the metaverse has become quite a popular destination for other major companies as well. In addition to giants like Roblox and Epic Games or Microsoft, Disney has now announced the construction of its version of the universe that has only been written about in sci-fi novels.

Expensive Mistakes

As reported by Reuters, Chapek recently explained to investors that the plan to conquer this new digital frontier aligns with the brand’s long history as a technological innovator. Indeed, back in 1928, Disney created the first animated film with sound – Steamboat Willie, and entering the world of the metaverse is just a continuation of that tradition of innovations that change the world.

– Today’s efforts are focused on merging the physical with the virtual world and telling borderless stories in our Disney Metaverse – said Chapek, who envisions the metaverse as a kind of extension of the Disney+ streaming service, a blank three-dimensional canvas for a new type of storytelling.

Although Disney is quite excited about this 'new frontier', not all of their previous digital experiments have gone smoothly. As Reuters recalls, the online network for children, Club Penguin, was shut down in 2017; the $563.2 million acquisition of Playdom proved to be completely misguided, and the purchase of Maker Studios (which cost them half a billion dollars) did not bring the expected revenues. One can only hope that the metaverse will be a different story, especially considering that major tech and entertainment players are also planning to occupy this virtual universe.

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