Companies have backed away from the once-hot digital realm, leaving metaverse leaders in the lurch. Advertising giant Publicis Groupe SA made an unusual executive hire in mid-2022—a lion-headed digital avatar named Leon who would serve as “chief metaverse officer,” guiding clients through the virtual realm that had seized real-world attention. Five months later, ChatGPT debuted, and the buzz that had surrounded the metaverse ever since Mark Zuckerberg rebranded Facebook as Meta Platforms Inc. shifted to artificial intelligence. Executives spearheading metaverse efforts at Walt Disney Co., Procter & Gamble Co., and Creative Artists Agency left. Leon and other human officers focused on the metaverse—an immersive digital reality where people can interact with one another—which quickly became an endangered species. The C-suite reshuffle illustrates the fickle nature of technology trends and the difficulty corporations face distinguishing hype from reality.