Oculus App Downloads Jump As Metaverse Wins Christmas

Ahead of the holidays, Silicon Valley’s Facebook made a major announcement that it was rebranding as “Meta” as part of its corporate embrace of the “Metaverse.” 

Mark Zuckerberg, the owner and founder of Meta, wants people to embrace a virtual reality world called the Metaverse. His company is selling Oculus Quest 2 virtual reality headsets, which have become the most desirable gifts this Christmas, according to KeyBanc Capital Markets.

Before Christmas Eve, the Oculus app ranked in the top 10 iOS entertainment app. On Christmas Day, the app jumped to the top five in the entertainment app in 14 countries and the number 1 app in the US.

“Net, we believe Oculus was a popular gift this holiday season, and potentially benefited from console shortages,” KeyBanc’s analyst Justin Patterson wrote. 

Facebook’s name change and shortage of gaming consoles appear to be the driving forces in creating the next iteration of the internet. 

Zuckerberg has said, by the end of the decade, “the Metaverse will be where we all live work and play.” However, former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey and Tesla’s Elon Musk have voiced their displeasure over the Metaverse.  

What’s happening is the beginning of the end as Big Tech herds people into the Metaverse The Matrix as it offers them a way to escape the harsh reality of living in an overpriced apartment studio, crammed into a city full of violent crime, drowning in insurmountable, and barely making a living wage amid high inflation

In a recent Goldman Sachs research report, “Framing the Future of Web 3.0 – Metaverse Edition,” published earlier this month (the full note is available to professional subscribers in the usual place), there has been strong consumer adoption of Oculus Quest 2 this year.

But it’s not just Big Tech herding people into the Metaverse; the need for virtual events and connections due to COVID-19 and social restrictions has pushed people into the virtual world. 

With millions of new Oculus users, the question we have is if retention will remain high or if the Metaverse is just a temporary fad. 

Comedian Tim Dillon recently explained the Metaverse to Joe Rogan. 

Insanely fun time with @joerogan have a good digital holiday folks! pic.twitter.com/PVcYs7Mvin

— Tim Dillon (@TimJDillon) December 24, 2021