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Facebook surges ahead in race to create metaverse
The tech giant plans to hire 10,000 people to accelerate the development of a so-called metaverse – the future iteration of the internet
By IQ on 18 Oct 2021
Oculus Rift
Facebook plans to hire 10,000 people to accelerate its development of a so-called metaverse – a virtual world in which people can work, game, play and even watch concerts.
The word ‘metaverse’ – made up of the prefix ‘meta’ (meaning beyond) and the stem ‘verse’ (a back-formation from “universe”) – is typically used to describe the future iteration of the internet, made up of permanent, shared, 3D virtual spaces linked into a perceived virtual universe.
Using technologies like virtual and augmented reality, Facebook says it hopes to create a greater sense of “virtual presence” in the metaverse that will “mimic the experience of interacting in person”.
Facebook has made building the metaverse one of its priorities, investing in virtual reality through its Oculus headsets and building VR apps for social hangouts and for the workplace.
In 2018, the tech giant expanded into VR live events, including concerts, with the launch of its social events app Oculus Venues.
Facebook invested $50 million in funding non-profit groups to help “build the metaverse responsibly”
The app enabled users of its Oculus Go and Gear VR headsets to watch live music and sports alongside other virtual-reality avatars.
In 2020, Occulus partnered with artist-owned streaming platform Tidal to bring a series of exclusive and intimate live performances that can be streamed in virtual reality to fans’ homes.
More recently it invested $50 million in funding non-profit groups to help “build the metaverse responsibly”.
However, Facebook claims the metaverse “won’t be built overnight by a single company” and has promised to collaborate.
A number of massive tech-centric companies that have vested interests in music, such as Tencent and Alibaba, are also investigating how to build a metaverse.
Roblox’s global head of music told IQ in January that he thinks the metaverse will be bigger than the internet and mobile
Over the course of several years, Epic Games has been expanding its hugely popular online multiplayer game Fortnite to host virtual concerts and brand events within its own virtual world.
Ariana Grande, Marshmello, Travis Scott, Steve Aoki, Deadmau5, Easy Life and J. Balvin are among the artists that have delivered virtual concerts within the game.
Other games are getting closer to a metaverse idea, too. Roblox, for example, is an online community where people come together to play, create and explore millions of 3D virtual worlds together with their friends.
The online gaming platform has also incorporated virtual concerts into its offering with performances from the likes of Royal Blood and Lil Nas X and Twenty One Pilots.
Roblox’s global head of music, Jon Vlassopulos, told IQ in January that he thinks the metaverse will be bigger than the internet and mobile.
Startup companies including Stage11, AmazeVR, Stageverse and Sensorium have also announced ambitions to develop a metaverse.
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