--- title: "Fans Say the Foo Fighters’ Metaverse Concert Was A Total Disaster" description: "The Foo Fighters’ Facebook-hosted VR concert was apparently a huge flop beset with technical difficulties. Per the many posts by frustrated fans, the band’s first-ever concert in virtual reality, which aired the night of the Super Bowl, was extremely difficult to log into and a pretty big letdown if one was able to get into […]" date: "2022-02-16" modified: "2022-02-16" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/foo-fighters-metaverse" categories: - "Future Society" - "Metaverse" - "Virtual Reality" tags: - "facebook" - "metaverse" - "virtual reality" --- # Fans Say the Foo Fighters’ Metaverse Concert Was A Total Disaster ![]() *\Image: The Foo Fighters/Meta/Futurism\* The Foo Fighters' Facebook-hosted VR concert was apparently a huge flop, beset with technical difficulties. Per the [many posts]() by [frustrated fans](), the band's first-ever concert in virtual reality, which aired the night of the Super Bowl, was [extremely difficult to log into]() and overall a pretty big letdown even for those able to get into the "venue" at all. "Meta destroyed this!" Read [a comment from one viewer]() on the Facebook video of the pre-recorded show. "I was so looking forward to watching on my VR." Kent Bye, a VR podcaster, tweeted a lengthy thread about the disappointing experience in which he detailed everything from the glitchy and [nearly-nonexistent "lobby"]() that's typical of VR shows to issues with the concert's cameras. https://twitter.com/kentbye/status/1493092806222516224 For anyone who's ever had had to wait in virtual queues for everything from [telehealth appointments]() to the [purchase of concert tickets](), the concept of a virtual waiting room is pretty common. At The Foo Fighters' Metaverse show, however, the "venue" didn't open its "doors" until right at the concert's start time, with the show starting just five minutes after it began letting users in. Unsurprisingly, this veritable floodgate-opening led to serious glitches. https://twitter.com/kentbye/status/1493095647506960386 Later in the thread, Bye noted that the VR shoot's directors "seemed to be prioritizing the shoot for what would look best for the 2D version," which was livestreamed simultaneously. "There were cameramen walking around on the stage killing the overall immersive vibe," he tweeted, adding that the 2D stream was "[more cinematic \[and\] emotional]()," before admitting that he [enjoyed the Fighters' themselves regardless](). Hours after the show was over, Vivek Sharma, a VP for Horizon Worlds — the Facebook-owned VR company that co-produced the show — said the login glitches occurred because "the demand was unprecedented" with attendance estimates [ranging from **7,000** to 12,000](). Critics like game developer Robert Newton, however, say there was no reason Facebook (er, Meta) should have been so unprepared. "As VR multi-user venues have been around now for about 6 years, I would've thought that the producers of the Foo Fighters VR concert could have planned capacity for more than a few thousand people," [Newton tweeted](). "The Metaverse is cool, but apparently tiny." He's not wrong. Fortnite began hosting livestream shows before the COVID-19 pandemic made them a staple in the music industry, and one show by the EDM artist Marshmello reportedly [had more viewers "in attendance" than Woodstock](). Facebook has clearly been trying and failing to replicate Fortnite's success in its nascent Metaverse. Though this wasn't the first time [Facebook Metaverse shows have flopped in recent months](), it does appear to be one of the biggest missteps for the newly-renamed company that's hitched its wagons to the VR craze. **More on the bumbling Metaverse:** *[Metaverse"Rave" Shows People Standing Perfectly Still With Zero Energy]()* ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()