The limits of the metaverse don’t exist because we don’t fully even know what is possible. We do know that the metaverse will be the future of online gaming, socializing, and how we reconnect with old friends and make new ones. In this article, we’ll tell you everything you need to know about the metaverse and the future of online gaming.
What even is the Metaverse?
This is a tricky one to answer even for those who are spending billions of dollars developing it. The metaverse, as we currently understand it, is a space in which we will be able to work, socialize, attend events, and do everything else that we can imagine. It’s been described as the future of the internet by industry giants Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook/Meta, and Satya Nadella, Microsoft. That’s all well and good, but what does that actually mean?
The meaning of the term is loose because we haven’t yet got it operational yet – imagine asking your average Joe in the 1970s what the internet is. Get it? In short, the metaverse will be a digital space that will let us virtually interact with our friends, have fun playing our favourite video games, and even attend live music events and film shows. These actions and events can be done alone or with friends, regardless of the distance between us.
What will the Metaverse become in 2022?
Despite still being in its infancy and very much being in the pre-beta stage of development, 2022 looks to be a huge year for the metaverse. Many industry-leading tech companies are looking to be the first to make real waves in the metaverse scene. Facebook, or Meta as they are now known, have thrown tens of billions at making the metaverse become a reality, and so you would assume that they have massive plans if they are willing to spend so much on it.
Despite us likely being nowhere near what the metaverse will eventually become, this year we should see the first concrete foundations that will allow the metaverse to explode over the coming decade. We’re already seeing hints of what is to come with Microsoft, Sony, and Meta all making moves in the gaming scene and buying numerous video game developers as they look to ensure that when metaverse gaming kicks off, they aren’t left behind.
The general feeling is that the metaverse will exist to make whatever isn’t possible in the real world possible with the use of technology. The metaverse will be a bastion of innovation, evidenced by Meta throwing billions at Reality Labs, an innovation department. This will likely make virtual reality and augmented reality much more mainstream, resulting in gaming and entertainment becoming much more immersive.
Will cloud gaming become a key part of the Metaverse?
Cloud gaming allows gamers to play their favourite video games without needing to buy any physical video games or download anything onto their device. Instead, gamers can buy the video game and then stream it onto their preferred device, even if it isn’t a classic video game console. An example of this would be for a gamer to be able to play their favourite video game on a compatible laptop when they are away and not able to play on the Xbox.
What this could mean for the metaverse is that players will be able to stream their video games onto their devices regardless of where they are, meaning that they will be able to virtually hang out with their friends even if they aren’t nearby and have different base consoles. Given that Microsoft looks to be a big player in the metaverse scene, it wouldn’t be crazy to imagine players being able to visit online music events with their video game pals.
What does the Microsoft boss have to say?
In short? Gaming in the metaverse is going to be absolutely huge. Microsoft chief executive officer Satya Nadella said that Microsoft is willing to do whatever it takes to ensure that they aren’t left behind in metaverse gaming. This determination to succeed is evidenced by Microsoft’s recent big-money acquisition of Activision Blizzard. The move is said to have cost the company around $68 billion and is a real statement of intent.
In an interview with the Financial Times earlier this year, Nadella said that he believes the metaverse is all about creating games, continuing to say that it all comes down to being able to build engines that can host people, events, and everything else in-between. It’s clear that the big companies are willing to invest vast sums of money in something that many of us struggle even to understand. It doesn’t look like the metaverse is going to fizzle out.
