Following the Non-fungible token (NFT) market surge and the increasing interest in metaverse games, the metaverse and web 3.0 have been established as the future of technology. Already a number of top tech companies like Facebook are looking to become the leading authorities in this new digital setup. The tech giant recently rebranded to Meta as it looks to go big on the metaverse and related technology.
Epic Games CEO, Tim Sweeney, the producer of one of the most popular online games, Fortnite, also sees an opportunity in the metaverse. He believes it’s a “multi-trillion dollar” opportunity, however, no company can single-handedly control the space.
Speaking at the Global Conference for Mobile Applications Ecosystem Fairness, Tim Sweeney discouraged closed software ecosystems. He claimed that the metaverse is a broad concept that should not be controlled by a single entity. This comes in the wake of the legal battles between Epic Games, Apple and Google.
Sweeney believes the metaverse is more like the internet, therefore no single company can own it.
The metaverse is the expected next evolution of the internet: involving games, social interactions and workplaces in 3D environments via avatars. Digital assets will be owned through NFTs as the space grows into a big shared, interoperable digital environment.
Facebook is the first big company to attempt to become the leader in the space. The company has embraced the internet of the future by sharing its vision of a digital space where users can play games, hang out and work in the 3D environment. Users will also be able to customise their spaces through NFTs.
Facebook is planning to go big on the metaverse. Other than rebranding to Meta, it plans to hire more than 10,000 people in Europe to help build out the Facebook metaverse. It is also planning to collaborate with other creators and developers to build responsibly in the space.
The race towards attracting users in the metaverse
Even though major companies like Facebook are moving to the metaverse, there is always the fear of centralisation. Blockchain technology stems from an ideology that values decentralisation. Therefore, by taking control of the metaverse, Facebook would be going against the principles of decentralisation.
Already some crypto experts have raised similar concerns. Yat Siu, the co-founder of Animoca Brands, a company that has invested in multiple crypto and metaverse startups, believes that Facebook and the Chinese tech company, Tencent, are a threat to an open metaverse. He claims there’s a need to build an open, composable metaverse before the major players dominate the space.
Other than Facebook, all the other big tech companies like Microsoft, Roblox and Epic are already looking towards building out the metaverse. Therefore, it’s a race to get the most users. The platform that attracts the most users will become the industry standard and will be the leader in this new digital space. Still, whichever the company it is, must not take complete control of the space as many crypto enthusiasts are willing to take up the fight.