Derek Robertson penned a piece for Politico that describes the current "metaverse winter." After an initial surge in excitement and investment, some of the companies who would bring the "metaverse" into mainstream acceptance are cutting funding and laying off workers, further delaying the arrival of widespread VR, AR and XR.
GlobalData Thematic Research by Verdict used the phrase in a January 20 report in which they said the "metaverse winter" is an opportunity for businesses to restrategize. GlobalData also trotted the phrase around in various interviews and press releases, claiming that the "metaverse winter" is being caused in 2023 by "cooling interest, economic obstacles, and the immaturity of enabling technologies."
The "metaverse winter" of 2023 was predicted by Dataquest in November of 2022.
An even earlier reference to the phrase appeared in September of 2022 by a crypto enthusiast and blogger named xuanling11, who claimed that the "Metaverse Winter is So Cold."
Also in September of last year, a Turkish publication claimed that Turkey was going through a "metaverse winter" because Turks has stopped buying up real estate in VR, for the most part.