The company, formerly known as Facebook, has staked a significant amount of money on the metaverse.
The company, formerly known as Facebook, has staked a significant amount of money on the metaverse. When CEO Mark Zuckerberg changed its name to Metaand guided visitors through its dizzying vision of the future in October, he boosted the already famous phrase.
However, “the metaverse” is a much larger — and more perplexing — concept. It’s become a catchall term for anything that combines people’s actual and virtual lives since its origins in science fiction. Virtual and augmented reality headsets, 3D virtual worlds such as Fortnite, Roblox, and Minecraft, and decentralised Web3 services such as cryptocurrencies and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are examples. Many proponents of the “metaverse” can’t agree on a single description or how many people already live in it.
Other firms had also established metaverse-style platforms, some years before Facebook even existed, such as Second Life maker Linden Lab. Here, we explore the uncertainties of 2021’s most pervasive tech buzzword and why it might not turn out the way any of these companies planned.
