Tinder to Metaverse: It’s not you, it’s me. No really, it’s me, I messed up so badly it hurts.
Tinder’s foray into the Metaverse has stalled, as the company swipes left on dating in the virtual world.
Tinder is a vexing app. On one hand, it is full of scams and bots, and trawling through it to find the love of your life can feel like sifting through a bin. On the other hand, many people have found their forever love on the app. And what is a better ending than that? A lot of GenZ kids exist today because their parents swiped right.
So the natural evolution for this dating app, you would think, is to set up a Tinderverse, where love hopefuls could meet in virtual worlds. Or maybe not.
Tinder Winter
Tinder’s parent company Match Group have canned the idea of Metaverse dating. This comes after Match Group sends out big vibes of buyer regret, after their mammoth purchase of Hyperconnect.
The bill for this romantic experiment wasn’t so joyful. Match paid $1.7 billion for the Seoul-based company. The idea was that Hyperconnect could get Tinder into the Metaverse without friction. Apparently, it was not money well spent. It was this huge debt, coming in hot, that is thought to have caused disappointing earnings last quarter and ended the idea of the Tinderverse.
Tinder Crypto
Not only was Tinder meant to enter the metaverse, the dating app also had plans for a native crypto, called Tinder Coins.
In a shareholder letter, CEO of Match Group Bernard Kim, said their pursuit of the Tinder coins is dead in the water.
“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. We also intend to do more thinking about virtual goods to ensure that they can be a real driver for Tinder’s next leg of growth and help us unlock the untapped power users on the platform.”
At the time of the Hyperconnect purchase, all things Web3 were in a huge hype upcycle. Shar Dubey, former CEO of Match Group said at the time, “Hyperconnect’s forward-looking technology has already forged new ways for the next generation to make friends and engage with new people, regardless of borders and language barriers. Our immediate goal is to accelerate Hyperconnect’s growth, while deploying their technology across our portfolio, helping to ensure people around the world have access to the best products to meet new people, and create joyful connections.”
Currently, Tinder is without a CEO. Up until last week, the Tinder CEO was Renate Nyborg, who is leaving the company after less than a year in the hot seat. The “fired” vibes are strong in this one, and we wait eagerly as more tea is yet to be spilled.
Hinge Success
While younger people have lost interest in Tinder, their interest has piqued around Hinge, another dating app owned by Match.
Says Kim, “The team prides itself on living up to their brand promise of ‘Designed to be Deleted.’ They want users to try the app, match, go on great dates and then delete the app. That’s how the product is structured, and it’s been a very successful formula. There’s no doubt Hinge is a particularly bright spot in our portfolio, with significant global growth potential.”
Despite in the upswing in Hinge fans, estimates for Match Group’s quarter ahead aren’t good. So, Tinder users, be prepared for all of the upselling to go premium. Or, you could ditch the dating apps and go out and meet other humans IN PERSON. Imagine the horror.
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