Google Earth, bear a resemblance to the "Earth" software developed by the CIC in Snow Crash. One Google Earth co-founder claimed that Google Earth was modeled after Snow Crash, while another co-founder said that it was inspired by Powers of Ten. Stephenson later referenced this in another of his novels, Reamde. Stephenson's concept of the Metaverse has enjoyed continued popularity and strong influence in high-tech circles (especially Silicon Valley) ever since the publication of Snow Crash. As a result, Stephenson has become "a sought-after futurist" and has worked as a futurist for Blue Origin and, more recently, Magic Leap. Software developer Michael Abrash was inspired by Snow Crashs Metaverse and its networked 3D world. He left Microsoft for Id Software to write something in that direction, the result being Quake. The story for the 3DO game Immercenary was also heavily influenced by Snow Crash. A direct video-game adaptation of Snow Crash was in development in 1996, but it was never released. The online virtual worlds Active Worlds and Second Life were both directly inspired by the Metaverse in Snow Crash. Former Microsoft Chief Technology Officer J Allard and former Xbox Live Development Manager Boyd Multerer claimed to have been heavily inspired by Snow Crash in the development of Xbox Live, and that it was a mandatory read for the Xbox development team. Possible film or television adaptation The novel was optioned shortly after its publication and subsequent success, although to date, it has never progressed past pre-production. American-Canadian science fiction director Vincenzo Natali in particular has argued against a two-hour feature film adaptation because of a perceived lack of fit with the form; since the novel is "tonally all over the place", he feels that a mini-series would be a more suitable format for the material. In late 1996, it was announced that writer-director Jeffrey Nachmanoff would adapt the novel for The Kennedy/Marshall Company and Touchstone Pictures. Marco Brambilla was attached to direct the film. In June 2012, it was announced that English director Joe Cornish, following his 2011 debut film Attack the Block, had been signed as director of a future film adaptation for Paramount Pictures. In 2013, Stephenson described Cornish's script as "amazing", but also warned that there was no guarantee that a film would be made. In July 2016, producer Frank Marshall said that filming could start in 2017. In August 2017, Amazon Studios announced that it