- What Is Metaverse? Metaverse is a digital environment where people can seamlessly move between work, play, shopping, socializing, and creating.
- Metaverse is a term coined by Neal Stephenson in his 1992 novel Snow Crash, reimagined as the Oasis in Ernest Cline’s novel “Ready Player One.”
- The metaverse already exists in theory and practice, but Madsen forecasts the technology will explode within the next five to ten years.
- Metaverse and Web3 are complementary in an ecosystem in which value is exchanged between people or organizations or a combination of both.
- In gaming, virtual and augmented reality, avatars, and digital ownership are already common in the metaverse.
- By 2030, Statista estimates that Metaverse will have a market opportunity of 678.8 billion dollars.
- Head on to MetaEnvo homepage for more information.
Imagine a world where you can socialize, play games, shop, and work without leaving the comfort of your couch. A fantasy world, which you can visit through a magic portal, is a place beyond reality, but one cannot differentiate it. While you may think I have been talking about a movie or a video game.
You’re mistaken; it’s a new face of the internet.
An immersive and embodied internet helps you enter the fantasy world and interact with other humans. Such a magical place is metaverse. While the metaverse is still progressing, it is embodying the internet rapidly.
What Is The Metaverse (Exactly)?
Metaverse is the evolution of the internet. It is a vision my visionaries and computer experts of an embodies internet. The internet would make the fantasy and futuristic world of movies like ‘Ready Player One accessible to everyone.
This innovative and futuristic technology would eventually become the new face of the internet. It lets you experience a more interactive and immersive experience, unlike anything you have seen before.
The term “Metaverse” comes from an amalgamation of two words, ” Meta” and “Verse.” Meta means “Beyond,” and verse refers to “universe.” Hence the name signifies the depth of transformation of the internet.
What powers metaverse is the combination of augmented reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR). These technologies would help users dive into a 3D world, providing an interactive and immersive experience.
A Flash At The History of Metaverse – How This Idea Sparked?
While Metaverse has become a new buzzword for the tech industry ever since Facebook was changed into “Meta,”; it’s not a new phenomenon. In 1992, Neal Stephenson wrote a sci-fi novel, “Snow Crash,” where he first coined the term “Metaverse.”
In the 1990s, UK grocery chain Sainsbury’s created a VR shopping demo. Those following online gaming in the last few decades know about virtual worlds.
The Metaverse as we know it today is best represented by the simulation game Second Life, launched in 2003. It is reminiscent of a role-playing game from the early 2000s and fulfills several roles imaged for the future where avatars interact and hang out in a virtual world.
We can engage in real-world activities through these virtual spaces, such as clubbing and meetings. Additionally, the game has a virtual economy with its currency. In short, Second life perfectly symbolizes what Metaverse would look like.
The second example of an early metaverse is PlayStation Home, which launched in 2008 and was unfortunately shut down in 2015. Even though it didn’t work out, it is interesting to see what a corporate version of Metaverse could look like. However, it was overshadowed by far more entertaining virtual worlds on the PS3. Although it prefigures Zukerberg’s recent metaverse demo, it is not identical.
How Does Metaverse Works?
Now, as you have learned, What Is Metaverse? Now, let’s know how it works.
Metaverse technology is a blend of virtual reality, blockchain, and Web3. Data chunks are stored in “blocks” using blockchain technology and then linked in a chain based on their importance. Blockchain databases are a vital component of cryptocurrency, allowing data to be shared while ensuring fidelity and security.
Web3 provides the framework for extended reality thanks to blockchain, which is the building block of the metaverse. In addition, virtual reality simulates a real-world experience using these technologies.
Virtual reality software relies on a “virtual world generator” made with a software development kit offered by a specific VR headset vendor. As part of this kit, you will find the most basic applications, drivers, data, and graphic-rendering libraries.
Digital Representation in Metaverse
Avatars are digital manifestations of ourselves, and since they cannot resist the physical forces of nature like our bodies, they should be allowed to live and progress digitally.
Despite their humanoid attributes, avatars in this space can take different forms because they have moveable limbs, torsos, and faces for non-verbal communication. To explore the Metaverse, you need an avatar to move around.
In the Metaverse, avatars act as gates into the world and can be created in various ways. Getting the whole virtual space experience requires wearing VR goggles and other receptive tools, making it possible for you to feel the body sensations needed to communicate.
Who Owns the Metaverse – No, Not Mark Zuckerberg!
There is no single entity that “owns” the internet, so the same goes for the metaverse. This concept is unlikely to be owned by any single entity, whether a government or a multinational company. As a result, these entities will likely collaborate and operate under a set of agreed-upon policies and protocols.
One organization working towards this goal is the Khronos Group. Khronos Group’s royalty-free OpenXR standard for VR and AR development has already gained widespread industry support and demonstrated its benefits of interoperability.
With that in mind, there is hope that the group’s latest project, the Metaverse Standards Forum, a community comprised of more than 1800 standards-setting organizations, nonprofit organizations, and companies, will devise and promote strategies for building an inclusive and pervasive metaverse.
Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney says that’s better than the alternative. “This metaverse will be much more powerful and widespread than anything else,” Sweeney told VentureBeat. If a significant company gains control of this, it will be more powerful than any government on the planet.
How To Enter And Access the Metaverse?
At this point, there is no single gateway to access the metaverse. However, experts recommend purchasing some hardware to experience it truly.
The structure of the metaverse is similar to that of the Apple App Store, says cybersecurity expert Baggili. Currently, you can download apps from the App Store that offer experiences in virtual reality, augmented reality, and extended reality. In the early days of the Internet, Yahoo created a portal to help users access the Internet, but there is no single portal that people can use to access it.”
Consequently, various tech heavyweights now offer gaming, virtual workspaces, and live entertainment experiences. Many platforms like Decentraland, Axie Infinity, Horizon, Sandbox, Fortnite, and Roblox fall under this category.
Many experts, however, argue that you don’t need a VR headset to enter the metaverse. Ball pointed out, “we constantly use the Internet through smartphones in our pockets, Alexas in our living rooms, or cameras around us.
“In most cases, we use our smartphone to access the metaverse, but we are often passive participants. Every day, hundreds of millions of people access real-time rendered 3D virtual worlds on their smartphones and tablets. We will likely access the metaverse primarily through these devices in a decade.”
Even though accessing the metaverse from your smartphone, tablet, or computer would mean taking away from the immersive experience, it is an excellent way to test the waters and see if it is worth the hype.
Gaming in Metaverse
Metaverse games have become a significant part of the gaming industry’s evolution in recent years. To experience next-level gaming, players enter Metaverse. Since the future is decentralized, gaming companies focus more on decentralized projects since Metaverse can be either centralized or decentralized.
Metaverse games regulate character behavior based on avatars representing players’ real identities. People in the real world live precisely like these characters in Metaverse. Play-to-earn in metaverse games allows players to win virtual gaming items and sell them for real money.
Players can invite their social media friends to enjoy games together, interact in the Metaverse, and collaborate with other players. With Metaverse, players experience a true-to-life experience through AR and VR technologies.
There is no need for players to make significant changes to their gaming items when they shift from one space to another in the Metaverse.
Commerce in Metaverse
Metaverse e-commerce is sure to accelerate in the years to come. Online and offline shopping will merge even more as technology and adoption grow.
Using augmented reality technology, consumers can now be confident in a product’s quality and fit before they purchase it. Besides providing convenience to shoppers, this also helps merchants reduce returns and expand their customer base.
Metaverse technology enables brands to offer highly personalized digital experiences to shoppers. In the metaverse, shoppers can find what they want, exactly when they want it, through a seamless experience. By leveraging the metaverse, brands can customize the shopping experience at scale, enabling them to reach more shoppers.
Education in Metaverse
With the metaverse, users can leave one space and enter another, allowing them to navigate and explore the learning space while immersing themselves in the subject matter. Roblox recently announced that it would allocate USD10 million to develop a virtual learning space. Players can create their own spaces and games through the Roblox Studio and explore various virtual worlds.
Participants in these games can interact with other users, giving students various learning opportunities. Institutions could, for instance, create virtual campuses and classrooms where students can ‘visit’ and interact with staff and peers in different settings.
Education stakeholders and educators need to study the implications of utilizing this technology. Using the metaverse to help learners should be of paramount concern, and more research needs to be conducted on the benefits and impact of this use.
Work in Metaverse
Metaverse solutions for the workplace often only require a computer, mouse, and keyboard, but to experience 3-D surround, you usually have to wear a virtual reality headset. With computer-generated holography, headsets are no longer necessary, either by using virtual viewing windows to display computer images or holographic pods at events and meetings to project people and images onto reality.
Users can also interact with 3-D virtual objects using haptic gloves, which allow them to feel pressure, texture, and movement.
Within the Metaverse, you can make friends, raise virtual animals, design virtual fashion items, buy virtual real estate, attend events, and create and sell digital art – and earn money as you do so. However, until recently, little attention has been paid to how the Metaverse affects the workplace.
In response to the pandemic, enterprises seek authentic, cohesive, and interactive remote and hybrid work experiences with fewer physical meetings and travel limitations. A metaverse appears to be reshaping the workplace in four significant ways:
- New immersive forms of teamwork.
- The emergence of new digital colleagues powered by artificial intelligence.
- The acceleration of skills acquisition and learning through virtualization and gamification.
- The eventual growth of a metaverse economy containing entirely new businesses and roles of employment.
Entertainment in Metaverse
In 2026, the entertainment industry’s metaverse is expected to be worth $28.92 billion, according to Technavio. As gaming technology advances and entertainment options change, the market will grow faster.
A KPMG study predicts that 510 million people will play online gaming by 2022. From 360 million in 2020, this is a substantial increase. It means that more people will enjoy fun games online: the entertainment industry will increase, and gaming will gain traction.
Further, major entertainment brands will integrate gaming services into their services and invest more in creating immersive gaming and entertainment experiences for gamers.
Social Media in Metaverse
A metaverse-led social media platform might focus more on providing immersive, interactive experiences – than simply connecting users to friends via 2D web pages. If we meet for a catch-up, we can meet in any place we can imagine.
In addition to providing lifelike sight and sound, virtual reality can increasingly simulate other senses, such as touch and smell. Despite texting or video chatting with a loved one today, we may be able to walk hand-in-hand with them in the near future, breathing in the scent of flowers as we go.
Tourism in Metaverse
Metaverse tourism is made possible by virtual reality technology, but VR tourism can take things to an entirely new level. Here virtual reality would replace or enhance real-life travel experiences.
Virtual reality tours allow tourists to explore attractions at home, providing a realistic experience. As a next step, virtual tourist attractions are also used to host virtual concerts, expos, trade shows, and virtual entertainment events.
Tourism managers may also want to explore how augmented reality is being used to provide metaverse tourism solutions. Apps that use augmented reality and smartphones can provide information about the real world.
As a result, hotel elements would be interactive, tourist attractions would have AR power, and beacons would deliver relevant push notifications in real-time.
Real-Estate in Metaverse
In the metaverse, users could own a virtual property just like in the real world. These properties are merely digital images which are pixels in the computer’s language.
Even though they look like digital images, they are more than that. Creators can use these virtual properties for inaugurating gaming events, NFFT sales, meetings, concerts, and countless other activities.
A rise in the metaverse will also lead to an increase in digital real estate. According to a study by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the value of metaverse real estate is predicted to increase by 31.2% by 2028 as its popularity grows.
Metaverse Economy: An Entire New Virtual Eco-System
Metaverse will give birth to entire ecosystems. Where users not only interact with each other but also exchange products and value. Here are three essential components of a Metaverse Economy.
NFTs Economy: A Whole New Medium Of Exchange
Cryptocurrency would be the common medium of exchange in the metaverse. People in the metaverse would use cryptocurrency to pay across virtual and geographical borders in a decentralized metaverse.
In the metaverse, digital currencies and NFTs(Non-Fungible Tokens) will make financial transfers faster and easier, simplifying cumbersome tasks such as sending money between platforms.
Creators Economy: Making new place of Creativity
Content creation would be a significant activity in the metaverse. Independent creators in various media who create, disseminate, and get paid for their content should flourish in a decentralized metaverse, which needs to be built out and filled with content.
By using blockchain, creators can secure their ownership, monetize their work, and control how, when, and by whom it can be used.
Creators will also benefit from a centralized metaverse, as they do today from centralized internet platforms. However, they will have less ownership and control over the work they produce in this case.
Data Economy: A Decentralized Monetary System
Data is becoming the new oil in the digital world, and the metaverse is no exception. Metaverse would have a decentralized economy allowing users to control their data and exchange or sell it.
As financial institutions become open, fintech startups and third parties can build innovative financial products using permission consumer data.
Future of Living is in Metaverse
According to some experts, “the metaverse will be a part of many people’s lives by 2030.”. Nevertheless, much work remains to be done on it. Accessibility of the hardware required will be the first challenge.
Additionally, interoperability allows you to transport virtual items between platforms, such as clothes or cars. Experts believe that this is essential for the metaverse to function.
Besides figuring out who will act as the police, there will also be legal and commercial challenges. A metaverse doesn’t guarantee that people will want to spend time there.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What is the difference between Metaverse and Multiverse?
A: In the Metaverse, users can communicate, play, shop, learn and work with their friends and family within one digital world. On the other hand, a multiverse is a collection of digital spaces with distinct characteristics.
Q: What is the Difference Between the Metaverse and Virtual Reality?
A: While Metaverse and virtual reality are interconnected, they are not identical or even in the same category. Virtual reality enables you to explore virtual worlds, while the Metaverse augments the Internet.
Q: Can the Metaverse replace the real world?
A: Although the Metaverse can facilitate and expand access to various work and consumption experiences and aspects – from live events to digital art to avatar skins – it can never replace our need for face-to-face interaction and connection, even in the workplace.
Q: Does Meta own the Metaverse?
A: No, (Meta) Mark Zuckerberg doesn’t own the Metaverse. No one owns the metaverse; it’s a free entity, just like the Internet. Mark Zuckerberg is a significant stakeholder as he has his Metaverse platform known as “Meta.”
Q: When will Metaverse be available?
A: Although Metaverse is available now, everyone can access it with VR headsets. However, it is not an evolutionary technology till now. But according to pew research, Metaverse will be fully functional by 2040.
