--- title: "Top Facebook Consultant Admits That the Metaverse Is Absolutely Terrible" description: "Meta advisor John Carmack is \"grumpy\" about the current state of Mark Zuckerberg's metaverse, as he explained at Meta's Connect 2022 conference." date: "2022-10-13" modified: "2022-10-13" authors: - name: "Maggie Harrison Dupré" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/mharrison" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/facebook-consultant-metaverse-terrible" categories: - "Future Society" - "Metaverse" - "Virtual Reality" tags: - "facebook" - "john carmack" - "metaverse" - "the digest" --- # Top Facebook Consultant Admits That the Metaverse Is Absolutely Terrible ![Meta advisor John Carmack is "grumpy" about the current state of Mark Zuckerberg's metaverse, as he explained at Facebook-turned-Meta's Connect 2022.]() *\Image: Meta\* ## Carmack Unscripted Meta advisor John Carmack — the digital pioneer behind the blockbuster videogame "Doom" — isn't impressed with Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg's vision for the "metaverse." "There's a bunch that I'm grumpy about," he said during "[Carmack Unscripted]()" — a dedicated hour featured at Facebook-turned-Meta's Connect 2022 conference earlier this week. The consultant made the comments a few hours after the release of Zuckerberg's self-lauding keynote presentation, in which the founder [showed off the company's latest developments]() in the virtual reality space. But while Zuckerberg used his presentation to flaunt Meta's so-called successes, Carmack took his own hour to tear the company's metaverse strategy to absolute shreds. "Last year I said that I'd be disappointed if we weren't having Connect in Horizon this year," said a legless, pixelated Carmack, standing in a digital Horizon Worlds house. "This here, this isn't really what I meant," he added. "Me being an avatar on-screen on a video for you is basically the same thing as \[just\] being on a video." ## Quest Qualms In his "unscripted" speech, Carmack voiced his frustrations with the [newly-unveiled Quest Pro headset](). While it may feature some technological improvements over Meta's Quest 2, which was released exactly two years ago, the battery life is atrocious, and it's wildly expensive. The "Doom" creator *clearly* isn't a fan. "I've always been clear that I'm all about the cost-effective mass-market headsets being the most important thing for us and for the adoption of VR," Carmack said during the event. "And Quest Pro is definitely not that..." ## Doomed Strategy Carmack took aim at Meta's overall strategy as well. He acknowledged Zuckerberg is caught up in an uphill battle, clearly struggling with the technological limitations of contemporary VR technologies. But he also argued that Meta is currently too focused on and "paranoid" about the [*quality* of its Horizon Worlds spaces and avatars](), and should instead try to get as many people into those spaces as possible — a problem that a $1,499.99 VR headset isn't exactly going to solve. **More on quality concerns:** *[Zuckerberg's Metaverse Maybe Has Legs Now, but Apparently Only for Executives]()* ## Author At Futurism, I've reported extensively on the rise of AI as a cultural and business force shaping the media industry, and more broadly how those dynamics are changing how we all consume and share information and relate to one another. I'm also fascinated by public health policy and ethics, the role of emerging tech in politics and governance — and the powerful people and forces at those intersections — climate change, and the environment. My investigation on Sports Illustrated's use of AI-generated authors with fictional biographies won a 2024 Mirror Award for "Best Story on Media Coverage of Artificial Intelligence in Journalism and the Media" from Syracuse University's SI Newhouse School, I contributed to Niemen Lab's 2025 Predictions for Journalism series, and I've discussed my work for Futurism during appearances on NPR, CNN, the BBC, the CBC, and more. I grew up in rural Pennsylvania and attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where I played Division I field hockey for the Minutewomen as a midfielder. Since then, I've lived in New Orleans, Louisiana and Manhattan, New York. I spend my free time running, reading, perusing archival fashion, and searching for the world’s best negroni. I also have a debonair tuxedo cat, Westley, who's named after "The Princess Bride." ### Author social links [Bluesky]()