Disney’s metaverse head departs

Mike White, the leader behind Disney’s metaverse ambitions, has left the company, a person familiar with the matter confirmed. 

The reason for White's departure is not immediately clear, but it is a nail in the coffin of sorts for a dream that Disney never got off the ground. In February 2022, the media powerhouse appointed White—already a Disney executive—to lead its metaverse strategy under the then-new title of senior VP of next-generation storytelling and consumer experiences.

At the time of White's hiring, then-CEO Bob Chapek was all-in on the virtual vision: “Today, we have an opportunity to …create an entirely new paradigm for how audiences experience and engage with our stories,” he wrote in an internal memo at the time. “This is the so-called metaverse, which I believe is the next great storytelling frontier and the perfect place to pursue our strategic pillars of Storytelling Excellence, Innovation, and Audience Focus.”

Disney and White did not respond to requests for comment for this story. 

White’s appointment came during the surge in metaverse interest, when the price of Bored Apes was skyrocketing and Meta still looked prescient for changing its name. Companies in media, retail and fashion began selecting leaders to helm their own virtual strategies, some even going so far as to create the role of “chief metaverse officer.”

But once the crypto market crashed in the fall, sentiment changed, and a gloomy economic outlook meant that risky spaces like the metaverse were a prime target to cut costs. While Disney held on longer than many, it finally let go in March when it eliminated its entire metaverse division. All 50 employees under White were laid off, though White himself remained at the company, reportedly in a new role that was never announced.

In terms of what's next for Disney's Web3 and metaverse strategy, little has been laid out. The Disney+ streaming service will be accessible through Apple’s Vision Pro headset, which it unveiled in June. But given Apple’s continued distancing from the metaverse—Tim Cook himself loathes the term—the activation hardly feels like a new paradigm.

News of White’s departure was first reported by The Ankler.