It seems that users will have to wait a little bit longer before they can enjoy a metaverse dating experience.
Match Group, Dallas-based American internet and technology company that owns Tinder, is moving away from metaverse investments due to economic uncertainties.
According to the letter shared on August 2nd, Match Group will postpone its investments into Metaverse as well as the release of the in-app digital currency Tinder Coin.
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The Match Group CEO, Bernard Kim has also announced the withdrawal of Tinder CEO Renate Nyborg, who was the first female to take this position.
The CEO had grand plans for the future of Tinder and Metaverse. Back in 2021, Tinder acquired video-AI and augmented reality company Hyperconnect, which was supposed to help Tinder to launch “Tinderverse”.
Nyborg has believed that if Hyperconnect continues to develop its avatar-based “Single Town” experience, eventually Tinder can employ the technology to expand user experience. Using this technology, “Tinderverse” would allow users to meet up and get to know each other in Metaverse before hanging out in real life.
However, following the economic losses of the second quarter (Q2), Bernard Kim has instructed Hyperconnect to slam the brakes on this project, stating:
Given the uncertainty about the ultimate contours of the metaverse and what will or won’t work, as well as the more challenging operating environment, I’ve instructed the Hyperconnect team to iterate but not invest heavily in metaverse at this time.
The future of Tinder Coin also seems quite hazy. Initially, the company planned to release this coin as a tool to encourage significant spending on the platform.
Tinder has expected to distribute some coins as rewards for active participation in the app and keeping user profiles up to date. Moreover, users would be able to purchase Tinder Coin directly and use it as a payment method for premium Tinder features, such as Super Likes.
However, according to the letter, the company is now reconsidering these plans:
After seeing mixed results from testing Tinder Coins, we’ve decided to take a step back and re-examine that initiative so that it can more effectively contribute to Tinder’s revenue.
After publishing the letter, the Match Group stock has fallen around 21%.
