Metaverse pioneers unimpressed by Facebook rebrand

FILE PHOTO: An avatar of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is seen carrying a U.S. flag while riding a hydrofoil in the "Metaverse" during a live-streamed virtual and augmented reality conference to announce the rebrand of Facebook as Meta, in this screen grab taken from a video released October 28, 2021. Facebook/Handout via REUTERS

LONDON (Reuters) - Early adopters of the virtual worlds known as the metaverse criticised Facebook's rebranding as an attempt to capitalise on growing buzz over a concept that it did not create.

The term metaverse has become a tech buzzword this year, with companies and investors keen to be a part of the next big thing. But users have for years been spending time in these fast-growing but obscure virtual worlds.