One day, perhaps, we will disdain the two-dimensional screens that now dominate our attention in favor of the more immersive world of the metaverse.

At present, however, that is not happening en masse. And as Meta’s staggering stock price drop on the heels of its expensive investments in the metaverse demonstrates, there’s a lot of money to lose in pursuing that futuristic vision.

Venture investors appear to be increasingly sensitive to those risks. That, at least, is an easy explanation for why funding for companies in the virtual reality, augmented reality, and virtual worlds categories has been…