With The Metaverse is dead, Charles Perez delivers a sharp essay exploring the decline of enthusiasm surrounding the metaverse while outlining its evolution toward more pragmatic and immersive uses. A professor at Paris School of Business and a researcher specializing in new media, the author offers a critical reflection on these technologies that are reshaping our digital and educational lives.
In this interview, he reflects on his career, the reasons behind this provocative title, and the prospects he envisions for a subtle yet promising future for the metaverse.
Introduction
You are a professor at Paris School of Business and the author of the book The Metaverse is dead. Can you tell us more about yourself, your academic background, and your role as a teacher?
I am a researcher specializing in the study of new media and emerging digital practices, with a particular interest in the metaverse. I am also deeply committed to popularizing these advancements, sharing new practices and contemporary as well as future challenges with my students. Every year, in collaboration with Karina Sokolova, I organize a hackathon dedicated to augmented reality and another to virtual reality, aiming to raise awareness among future managers about the challenges and opportunities in these fields.
In 2022, you published The Metaverse handbook, which explored the impact of this emerging technology. What inspired you to write The Metaverse is dead?
While writing The Metaverse is Dead, I sought to present a more personal perspective on the metaverse, which sets it apart from The Metaverse Handbook, designed as a pedagogical introduction to immersive virtual spaces and associated technologies. In The Metaverse is Dead, I offer a more intimate and critical reflection on current issues and possible trajectories for the web and immersive environments.
The Metaverse: Definition and Evolution
You refer to the "death" of the Metaverse. Could you explain what you mean by "metaverse" and this "death," and how it manifests in the digital world?
The metaverse can be defined by the acronym VIP, referring to Virtual, Immersive, and Persistent worlds. My perspective is broader. I see it as a convergence of various technologies capable of transforming our digital experiences to make them more natural. Any solution that enhances immersion in digital activities qualifies, in my view, as part of the metaverse family. Therefore, I don’t exclude 3D websites, extended reality, digital twins, or industrial and entertainment applications. Limiting the metaverse to video games like Fortnite or Minecraft would be reductive, though they are notable examples.
Today, we are witnessing the end of the initial media hype, marked by strong polarization and a wave of articles announcing its “death.” This echoes a December 2000 Daily Mail article in which James Chapman predicted the death of the Internet, then seen as a “passing fad.” The reasons cited at the time are strikingly similar to those being raised about the metaverse today. I have used this period of calm to reflect, listen to critiques, and analyze the real challenges tied to these technologies. Interestingly, many players working on immersive technologies and NFTs are continuing to develop their solutions quietly. Terms like “metaverse” and “NFT” seem exhausted by the media frenzy, and it might be time to let them fade to make way for something new, such as the immersive web.
Rather than interpreting this evolution as a failure, you describe it as a transformation. What are the major milestones of this evolution, and why does the metaverse no longer meet initial expectations?
Rather than seeing this evolution as a failure, I view it as a natural and necessary transformation. It represents progress, moving us from a utilitarian, centralized, and functional web lacking true immersion to a more engaging environment. Today, the web often remains confined to flat interfaces, lists, and forms, framed by cookie management and passwords—practical but not immersive.
The goal is to move beyond these limitations and build a three-dimensional web better suited to humans, who perceive and interact in 3D. We are transitioning to more immersive experiences through technologies that add 3D elements to our flat screens, such as augmented reality, mixed reality, and virtual reality. Amazon, for instance, offers 3D showrooms for shopping in interactive environments, far removed from traditional product lists. With Amazon Beyond, virtual showrooms like the Virtual Holiday Shop and Hogwarts Shop allow customers to explore products in personalized settings designed to highlight their aesthetic and create a more engaging experience. Users can click on items to view details and add them to their cart without interrupting their exploration.
The virtual showroom dedicated to the world of Hogwarts offers a welcoming experience. A spacious room bathed in the glow of a fireplace and lit by a chandelier of candles opens to a starry sky. This setting holds treasures from the wizarding world: iconic costumes, Hogwarts house banners, decorative items, and enchanted accessories. Most of the items on display are available for purchase, from clothing and accessories to decorative pieces.
The push toward immersion is reinforced by the imminent arrival of augmented reality glasses, expected by 2025 from Baidu (Xiaodu AI Glasses), Samsung (Samsung AR Glasses), and Meta (Meta Orion). Rather than signaling the end of the metaverse, this evolution represents a transition to a more accessible form tailored to users' expectations and open to a much broader audience beyond gamers or professionals.
The Metaverse in higher education
How do you think the Metaverse could influence higher education? Is it a tool capable of transforming pedagogical practices in the long term, or is it a false promise?
The promise of the metaverse for higher education and training lies in a major shift: moving from storytelling, which conveys knowledge through classroom narratives, to storyliving, which immerses learners in virtual environments where they learn through experience. This transition makes learning more concrete, immersive, and engaging. The difference is as striking as comparing the acquisition of sales strategies through theoretical concepts on paper versus immersion in a simulation with a potential client.
This approach can transform pedagogical practices by offering experiences tailored to learners’ needs and the complexity of the skills they must acquire. Virtual reality stands out with its embodiment (the sensation of fully inhabiting an avatar), social presence (the feeling of genuinely interacting with others), and non-mediation (the disappearance of the medium as an intermediary). These characteristics make learning more realistic and stimulating, paving the way for innovative and effective teaching practices.
In your book, you mention that the Metaverse could redeploy in more discreet, modest, and pragmatic ways. Can you provide concrete examples of what this might mean for teachers and students?
I advocate for a more discreet and pragmatic vision of the metaverse to encourage adoption. Today, this technology is often perceived as “noisy”: it requires complex or costly tools and generates excessive media buzz. To achieve widespread adoption, it must become more seamless and integrate smoothly into our daily lives. The metaverse should leverage widely used technologies, like smartphones and augmented reality, to provide accessible entry points for the general public.
Enhancing the environment through a smartphone camera is a promising direction. Current applications include animating store windows, virtual unboxing experiences, and augmented surfaces. Distance, a company founded by the creators of Varjo, is developing augmented reality technology that can transform any transparent surface, such as car or airplane windshields, into an interface. These simple and concrete solutions encourage gradual adoption by minimizing technical barriers.
For more immersive uses, virtual reality has significant potential in education and training. With existing infrastructure in some institutions, training centers, and cultural organizations, more learners can access high-quality immersive experiences to develop skills.
Have you observed interesting educational applications of the Metaverse in academia, such as creating virtual classrooms or simulating professional scenarios?
Creating a simple virtual classroom in the metaverse seems limited to me because it doesn’t fully exploit the technology's potential. Its true value lies in immersive scenarios, such as simulations for job interviews, negotiations, or crisis management, which offer realistic learning experiences and help students develop practical skills. The metaverse can also raise awareness of inclusion by allowing participants to step into another person’s shoes, fostering empathy and diversity.
In technical or industrial fields, it enables the manipulation of machines or digital twins in simulated environments, providing practical learning without real costs or risks. This technology also facilitates preparation for interventions in hazardous areas, making them safe and accessible. From education to commerce, healthcare, and industry, the metaverse’s ability to offer immersive, tailored, and engaging experiences holds significant potential to transform teaching and training.
Technologies and their role in our daily lives
You discuss the slow integration of the Metaverse into our digital lives. Does this approach also apply to other new technologies in education, like AI, augmented reality, or virtual reality?
The metaverse is being adopted at a much slower pace than AI, which has experienced rapid growth. However, these two fields are not in opposition but complement each other. The emergence and rapid democratization of artificial intelligence accelerate the development of immersive and metaverse tools through innovations like text-to-3D, text-to-video, and text-to-virtual-space, which make creating virtual environments easier.
The imminent arrival of augmented reality glasses, less intrusive than VR headsets, marks a new stage. These devices simplify interaction with AI without requiring screens or complex interfaces. The Ray-Ban Meta, for instance, illustrates the seamless and discreet integration of immersive technologies, signaling what I call the “immersive web.” The glasses I already wear can analyze my environment, converse with me, and provide real-time contextual information through AI. Tomorrow, they could enrich my view of the world around me.
We are currently in a phase of consolidation. Unlike AI, the metaverse's slow adoption provides an opportunity to better understand its challenges before widespread generalization. My book delves into these issues to explore the challenges and prospects of this transition.
How do you envision the future of the Metaverse and, more broadly, new technologies in higher education? Could they play a major role in transforming pedagogical practices in the coming years?
The combined use of artificial intelligence and the metaverse already allows for the simulation of complex professional scenarios in a credible manner, offering real-time feedback. Experiencing something firsthand is far more impactful than studying a case on paper. This tool, over time, will complement traditional courses by introducing a new approach to practical work.
However, I notice that as digital tools for communication and learning develop, we increasingly value time spent in person and direct interaction. No technology can replace the fundamental human need for face-to-face engagement. Accompanied learning becomes even more valuable as an alternative amidst numerous digital possibilities.
Even as the adoption of the metaverse accelerates and generalizes for the reasons mentioned, it will remain a complementary tool—enriching but not substitutive. Traditional learning forms, rooted in human presence, will retain their central role in education, as they address needs that even the most immersive technology cannot fully satisfy.
Conclusion
What is the main message you want to convey to readers about our relationship with new technologies?
The message I want to convey is clear: we are no longer mere users of technology but co-creators. This shift is evident in the creator economy, widely embraced by metaverses like The Sandbox, Decentraland, or Horizon Worlds, which serve as blank canvases to be enriched and transformed. Artificial intelligence and blockchain make creation more accessible through transparent and reliable digital mechanisms. They also pave the way for shared governance, where everyone can participate in the tool’s strategic decisions, reinforcing the concept of a truly participatory ecosystem (as exemplified by The Sandbox DAO).
This renewed relationship with technology places us at the heart of digital innovation and creation. If this theme interests you, I invite you to explore my book, where I delve into these transformations and their implications for the future.
Find The Metaverse is Dead in physical, e-book, and audio formats on Fnac, Amazon, or Google Books.