The world changed forever when Facebook bought the Oculus virtual reality (VR) headset company for $2.9 billion in 2014. Seven years later, in October 2021, Facebook rebranded to Meta (Meta Platforms, Inc.).
At the time, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said he’d be investing $10 billion over the next decade to help bring the metaverse into the mainstream.
By December, Oculus became the most downloaded app in the Apple app store, ahead of Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube, and TikTok.
Meta sold 3.5 million VR headsets in 2021 (about 75% of the market share). That amount could nearly double in 2022.
With major competitors like Amazon, Google, and Microsoft now destined to keep up, the metaverse might turn into something like a Philip K. Dick science fiction novel.
Immersive entertainment in virtual worlds branded into every facet of physical reality may seem farfetched to some.
However, Statista reported that Meta had just under 3 billion monthly active users in the final quarter of 2021.
So, in many ways, the future of the metaverse changing our everyday realities already began decades ago.
But what is the metaverse?
Let’s take a closer look.
What’s The Metaverse?
The metaverse acts as a three-dimensional virtual world where anything is possible at its most basic level.
The metaverse’s precision includes the Grand Theft Auto series (1997) and the first-person shooter game Counter-Strike (2000).
The online social platform Second Life (2003) and the popular video game World of Warcraft (2004) came next.
Users got connected to virtual worlds in a video game setting hosted by various servers worldwide. Each server had a limited capacity to how many people could be in the game at one time.
The metaverse comes as a massive hardware and software upgrade to these technologies. Instead of only using Microsoft, Mac, or Linux operating systems, users need to buy a VR headset.
Specific gaming requirements aside, the metaverse also builds upon the massive worldwide adoption of cryptocurrencies, which surged to all-time highs throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
A metaverse platform like Spatial hosts 3D meeting rooms for art galleries, museums, and outdoor parks. You could even create your meeting place by connecting through mobile or desktop applications.
Other reasons for entering into the metaverse include conferences, business meetings, and even music festivals.
To avoid the vagueness of the term ‘metaverse’, it might help to consider WIRED magazine’s definition of replacing it with the word “cyberspace.”
Both ‘metaverse’ and ‘cyberspace’ refer to “how we interact with technology.”
The metaverse combines VR, augmented reality (AR), gaming consoles, computers, smartphones, and digital currencies.
You could buy clothes and other objects for your digital avatar in the metaverse. Or you could buy things to take out of the metaverse.
You could even convert your traditional fiat currency into a new digital one designed to speculate on virtual real estate.
The possibilities to interact in the metaverse remain endless.
How To Join The Metaverse
You might be wondering how to enter the metaverse. That all depends on which metaverse you are trying to experience.
The Zuckerberg version derives from the Oculus Quest 2—a VR headset and a pair of handheld controllers. (The HTC VIVE is another option, among many.)
To access the metaverse from a PC, you’ll need one with an impressive GPU (graphics processing unit). This will help to render a smooth and rewarding user experience.
You can also access the metaverse from your iOS or Android mobile device. The Roblox platform is available as a downloadable app for free. The Axie Infinity mobile metaverse, however, exists solely for Android users. (Although a TestFlight version for iOS is now offered.)
For the Axie metaverse, you’ll first need to go to the Axie website. At the top right corner, click PLAY NOW. To store your digital assets, you’ll need a Ronin digital wallet.
After buying three Axies (AXS), you can begin. They’re available from the Axie Marketplace as well.
Create a gaming account with an email and password—download Axie Infinity to log in and get started.
Another virtual world based on NFTs and cryptocurrencies comes from The Sandbox metaverse. Here’s how to get started:
- Go to The Sandbox metaverse website
- Sign in
- Connect a MetaMask account
- Enter a username, email, and password
- Create your account
- Download and install the Game Maker
- Open the app and sign in
The Sandbox token ($SAND) is used to buy and sell land and assets. You can also buy NFTs to incorporate them into your landholdings within the metaverse.
Another option comes from Decentraland. To join the Decentraland metaverse:
- Go to the Decentraland website
- Click “START EXPLORING”
- Play as a guest or play with your digital wallet
- Guests enter Decentraland right away
- With a digital wallet, users can buy and sell land
What Can You Do In The Metaverse?
As before, what you can do in the metaverse depends on which one you’d like to experience. For the most part, gaming in virtual worlds exists as what you can do in the metaverse.
For starters, the premise of the Axie metaverse is a “pet universe” for trading, battling, and raising fantasy creatures known as “Axies”. The Sandbox and Decentraland act as gaming platforms in the metaverse as well.
Users create 3D avatars and virtual goods to buy and sell. Crypto traders might use the metaverse as a way of storing their digital assets away from an exchange or trading platform.
After entering Decentraland, you can customize your hair, eye color, clothes, and accessories. You’ll then begin at the Genesis Plaza, where you’ll see other avatars walking around. (Get close enough, and you can hear them talking through a mic and headset.)
You can then visit places created by other users.
It’s not just tech megaliths like Microsoft, Meta, and Google investing in the future of the metaverse. Companies also buy land in the metaverse to promote their brand.
Some examples include:
- Atari
- Adidas
- Miller Lite
- Samsung
With Atari-themed games in the metaverse come brand-themed events. Adidas bought a plot of land in the metaverse after showcasing its brand of NFTs.
Samsung offers a store in Decentraland, an exact replica of one of its locations in New York City. The company hosted a digital event to launch the new Galaxy S22 phone.
There’s even a Meta Lite Bar sponsored by Miller Lite. Endless product placement paired with virtual pool tables and draft beers reminds users to stop and have a cold one. (Visitors could also enter contests and promotions to win real Miller products.)
The metaverse offers limitless possibilities between virtual and augmented reality fusion into our daily experiences.
The Future Of The Metaverse
To put it simply, the future of the metaverse exists today. Many people use the metaverse for recreation, earning digital currencies, advertising, or buying and selling NFTs.
Since the possibilities remain universal in scope, the metaverse may even shape the workaday world.
For example, industrial factories might use VR/AR technology for training new employees. The metaverse might allow these businesses to track inventory, oversee production quotas and workplace safety, and even maintain equipment.
BMW used Nvidia’s Omniverse Enterprise to do precisely that. They began simulating their manufacturing operations as part of their smart manufacturing brand, bringing a new product line into the forefront via the metaverse.
Microsoft’s $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard (World of Warcraft, Candy Crush) also proves that giant tech companies want to bring the metaverse into the mainstream at any cost.
This metaverse boon falls on the shoulders of chipmakers as well. Intel recently announced opening two factories in Ohio for $20 billion, with more expected future.
Banks getting in on the surge center around metaverse-based ETFs and the capital they offer shareholders and investors.
Virtual meetings in the metaverse might also become commonplace in just a few years. Classrooms and community events like concerts may go virtual, too.
Larger retailers may sell virtual gear, including Nike, Luis Vuitton, Gucci, and more.
Online sportsbooks now accept digital currencies for deposits and withdrawals. Users easily bet on the best online sportsbooks through secure transactions and anonymity, just like in the metaverse.
While headsets remain expensive, the metaverse may have one billion users by 2030.
Final Thoughts
The metaverse comes as a technological boom for the entire planet. The pandemic showed that experiencing virtual worlds might be the next giant step in human evolution.
Instead of getting into your car to go to work, you might be able to put on a VR headset.
Rather than waiting in line to go to a museum or art gallery, you could visit one right from the comfort of your own home.
The metaverse offers a planet of eight billion people to connect. For some, that might have been unthinkable just a few decades ago.
