Metaverse pioneers unimpressed by Facebook rebrand

Early adopters of the virtual worlds known as the metaverse criticised Facebook’s rebranding as an attempt to capitalise on growing buzz over a concept that it did not create.

The term metaverse has become a tech buzzword this year, with companies and investors keen to be a part of the next big thing. But users have for years been spending time in these fast-growing but obscure virtual worlds. “They are essentially trying to build what many of us have been building for years but rebrand it as their own,” said Ryan Kappel, an American who for more than two years has hosted meet-ups in different metaverses.