Facebook wants to rule the metaverse. What's the metaverse?
Buzzword or breakthrough, the word "metaverse" has spread like wildfire through media discussions, boardrooms and earnings conference calls since $Meta Platforms (FB.US)$ CEO Mark Zuckerberg said this summer that his vision was to become the "metaverse company" - and doubled down just over a week ago by renaming the parent company Meta Platforms. But what is the metaverse? And why are so many companies quick to cite the buzzword as they talk about their future plans?
The term isn't new. It arose from early-'90s science fiction. In Neal Stephenson's novel Snow Crash, it represented virtual urban "real estate" that people could own and virtually travel through, encountering other users and otherwise engaging in life activities - and fantasies.
At its essence the term represents a shared virtual space, existing continuously on the Internet, and rendering information and interactions in a three-dimensional immersive virtual reality, rather than simply watching a screen. Imagine VR (virtual reality), but rather than moving through your own private world, it's in a huge shared space, the same way the Internet originally connected discrete networks into one, super-interconnected space.
There's no one definition that everyone accepts for a concept this new - which means that the ultimate boundaries will be shaped by the players investing the most.
Facebook's corporate name change to Meta Platforms indicates its seriousness about taking virtual ownership of the concept. In the company's July earnings call, CEO Mark Zuckerberg described the metaverse as "a virtual environment where you can be present with people in digital spaces. You can kind of think of this as an embodied Internet that you're inside of, rather than just looking at."
Meta is putting its early product-demonstration focus behind Oculus (which it bought in 2014), particularly its well-received Oculus Quest 2 virtual reality headset. In August it introduced Horizon Workrooms, a remote meeting solution that relied on the Quest 2 to pursue more natural virtual meetings than video calling, using mixed-reality desk/keyboard tracking, hand tracking, spatial audio and "Oculus Avatars."
Now "Horizon" will be the brand under which Meta produces immersive social experiences that used to fall under Oculus. "Horizon is the social platform we are building" in order for people to relate in the metaverse, Zuckerberg says: The house that serves as a starting point when Quest 2 users enter the space will change from Home to Horizon Home, while Horizon Worlds will expand beyond home and office to offer applications including virtual concerts and afterparties.
Skeptical investors, however, are coalescing around the school of thought that this "revolutionary" move to a metaverse has been in progress for some time - particularly in videogames.
Virtual spaces where real users could congregate using iconic representations called avatars are as old as the mid-1990s World Wide Web, when "places" like AlphaWorld and, later, Second Life allowed users to bump into each other and chat (but using then-low-powered computers and their lower-resolution displays).
A constantly iterating videogame industry has been bringing ever more lifelike representations of 3D physics into games seemingly every few months. And along the way it has carved out a sizable premium chunk of the entertainment market.
"We're probably the biggest metaverse company on earth," $Take-Two Interactive Software (TTWO.US)$ CEO Strauss Zelnick said this week. He doesn't necessarily subscribe to Zuckerberg's vision: "I'm skeptical that we're going to wake up in the morning and intentionally sit at home, strap on headsets and conduct all of our daily activities that way." But he does see it as useful for enjoying a heightened reality, such as through videogames. (Just the same, Take-Two's stock jumped in late October as Zuckerberg highlighted the company during his Facebook Connect keynote, saying Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas would be coming to the Quest.)
Videogame companies are no slouch when it comes to matching technological might with other metaverse developers. Before it went public this spring, $Roblox (RBLX.US)$ founder David Baszucki said "We're shepherds of the metaverse." The company has its own digital currency for users inside ("Robux"); it's drawn fans to virtual events; and recently Chipotle Mexican Grill said it would become the first restaurant brand to open a virtual location in Roblox's world.
Epic Games, the makers of battle-royale game hit Fortnite, has raised $1 billion to pursue development toward metaverse goals. And Fortnite has already used its tech to draw millions to virtual concerts featuring artists including Ariana Grande and Lil Nas X. So it's already moved beyond games to use its virtual 3D space for non-gaming applications. (Epic is majority-owned by CEO Tim Sweeney, and $TENCENT (00700.HK)$ has a 40% stake.)
That's where things get quite metaverse-y: Meta and Mark Zuckerberg envision a world where you'll meet others to meet, work, play - as well as attend entertainment, get fit, and (perhaps most important) shop. ( $Nike (NKE.US)$ is looking to hire designers for virtual wear, and has filed for trademark applications for its brands on such things as virtual branded sneakers and apparel.)
In a week where everyone was planting their flag on the metaverse concept, $Microsoft (MSFT.US)$ CEO Satya Nadella used his Ignite conference talk to say "The Microsoft cloud was built for this era," adding that part of its approach will include a version of its Teams conferencing platform that includes digital avatars for users, rivaling Meta's Horizon Workrooms.
Aside from the claims to company thought leadership in the space, though, what about potential suppliers who could benefit from a variety of potential outcomes? An "embodied" Internet will need a metric ton of graphical fidelity - and that means a surplus of processing power from companies like $NVIDIA (NVDA.US)$ , $Advanced Micro Devices (AMD.US)$ and $Unity Software (U.US)$
Nvidia stock rose by double digits last week when Wells Fargo said the upcoming arrival of Nvidia's Omniverse Enterprise was the next step in its strategy for development of the metaverse - a $10 billion incremental market opportunity in the coming five years.
Unity's CEO John Riccitiello says "I'd argue the metaverse is already here; it's just another word for the Internet," adding that it's not about competition or whether Roblox or Fortnite wins: "There'll be millions of endpoints in the metaverse and these will include shopping sites, games, social networks, messaging apps, 3D conferencing, and job sites and constructions augmented by real-time 3D in the form of Unity Reflect."
Companies like $Snap Inc (SNAP.US)$ continue to draw metaverse chatter not because of virtual reality but because of augmented reality, still seen as a window into the metaverse. Snap announced yet another iteration of its Spectacles smart glasses in May at its Partner Summit.
One thing's for sure: With tens of billions of investment dollars flowing its way, some concept of the metaverse will be hard to avoid - and it looks like author Stephenson's 1992 satirical take on it may be coming to bloom: a fascinating shared space not so much run by people but dominated by powerful corporations. (Just saying: In Snow Crash, the metaverse's conceptual ground zero, the country has undergone an economic collapse following hyperinflation that coincided with the masses shifting toward digital currency for untaxable transactions.)
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Dogoro777 : If you were writing a dystopian sci fi novel it would play out exactly like this.. so many things at this point have me convinced this life is just some form of lower reality and we’re voluntarily here to learn, grow, play, F up, feel pain & suffering etc
Aaron_Kelly : It's pure PR. There is nothing there to understand. Just a name change. Wrapping their arms around stuff that already exists and will evolve. Catchy but Madison Avenue more than substance. Break them up anyway so we can have mini-verses.
Austin ONeill : What is it? Another hack to get users even more addicted to their platform, but hey as long as helps the bottom line.
Kieron Morley Austin ONeill : Imagine… the nerve of a company, wanting to draw interest from users in some crazy scheme to somehow turn a profit?
Ya know, like every other company in the history of the world…
Ya cracked the code, Sherlock! Facebook has been exposed!
William Paul : This would help FB to gain users back since people are losing interest. Also Microsoft has a good bid on this fir virtual meeting. I think it will work for Facebook but the idea is more deep. Microsoft was planning to use this on medical field( doctors can use it to do visits virtually as they were there). I believe it will be successful it just need time.
Brandon Golden : I can't wait to take a vr crap
Brain Gomes : Lets see if we can figure out what METAVERSE means! How about MULIMEDIA UNIVERSE,control over the hole shooting match, dose this grab any ones attention! comments please.Zuckerberg is very far from being stupid, he knows what he's doing with F.B. He Leaves it to others to figure out his moves,At least a $500 stock if not more, people like it because of its structure, not hard to understand, Just sit back and watch the CO. IF IT IS MADE TO DIVEST ANY One who owns it will have a mutual fund, because of all the companies F.B. owns.
John Dow : It’s overhyped and will be underwhelming for years to come. It’s like 3D movies. Big on promises small in delivery
wild horse : Bitcoin is currently going nuts!
chris from queens : $Meta Materials (MMAT.US)$
