Roblox and more are more than just free online video games

Between internet giants, startups and video games... the Metaverse race kicks off

• A Chinese poses for a photo in front of an advertising poster for a video game that is no longer just a video game in the frantic race between technology companies.

  Reuters

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If Facebook made Metaverse its strategic priority, this parallel world opened the appetites of many other parties, such as video game companies such as “Roblox” and “Fortnite”, and a number of specialized start-ups, but will there be room for everyone?

The world of Metaverse is like a digital version of our physical world, accessible via the Internet.

Thanks to virtual and augmented reality in particular, this parallel world is supposed to make it possible to greatly increase human interactions by freeing them from physical constraints.

This expected next big leap in the path of the development of the Internet, which science fiction has imagined for nearly 30 years, has become a new horizon for development, but will there be a place for all aspiring companies in this field, especially in light of the huge investments required to create it?

"There's a good chance we'll have multiple metaverses, with lots of immersive experiences available on a lot of topics," BearingPoint's media partner, Nicholas Rivett, told AFP.

He added, "The meaning of this is not that there is only one face of the (Metaverse), which carries with it all the experiences, and we do not think that anyone alone can possess the keys to this world."

heated competition

Giant American technology groups, led by Facebook, have launched huge projects in this field.

Mark Zuckerberg's group, which recently changed its name to Meta, aims to establish itself as the creator of a global digital standard space, such as Apple's App Store or Google's search engine.

To achieve this, Facebook plans to invest tens of billions of dollars annually, and employ 10,000 people within five years in Europe.

But other giant groups do not intend to remain on the sidelines, among them, for example, «Microsoft» with «Corporate Metaverse».

On the occasion of its annual conference dedicated to professionals, the company recently announced the launch of "Mesh", a new feature in the "Teams" program, which will allow users, from 2022, to appear in the form of an avatar adapted to the user's appearance instead of playing a video.

In the same business, Nvidia, a leading manufacturer of processors, launched its Omniverse platform, which aims to allow international 3D design teams working on multiple software suites to "collaborate in real time in a shared virtual space."

Video games and virtual parties

“Roblox”, “Minecraft” or “Fortnite” have become more than just free online video games, especially since the start of the “Covid-19” pandemic, as entertainment platforms have transformed, enabling players to live a parallel social life.

This even destabilized the dominance of social networks such as Instagram, Tik Tok and Snapchat, and fueled its ambition to build its own Metaverse.

The company "Epic Games", the developer of the game "Fortnite", indicated that part of the amount of one billion dollars, which was collected this year from investors, will be allocated to developing this new field.

One of the first tangible manifestations of this was the virtual concerts of international stars, such as the American rapper Travis Scott, or the pop singer Zara Larsson, events attended by tens of millions of players.

But this also represents an opportunity for these companies to multiply their sources of income.

Once Zara Larsson fans could buy a T-shirt with her name or photo on it when she came out of her concerts, they could spend their money in the singer's virtual store on Roblox to dress their avatar in her famous sunglasses.

Alliance "Metaverse"

In Decentralland, an online platform that is seen as an ancestor of Metaverse, it is possible to purchase virtual plots of land in NFT format (online digital certificates of authenticity) via a cryptocurrency linked to the platform called mana.

In South Korea, a coalition of companies and public institutions was formed in May under the leadership of the Ministry of Science to avoid "dependence on foreign actors across borders," according to Nicholas Rivett.

The consortium was called the "Metaverse Alliance", and it includes more than 200 companies along with giant local groups, such as "Samsung".

• Mark Zuckerberg's group, which recently changed its name to "Meta", aims to consolidate its position as the creator of a global digital standard space, such as the App Store from "Apple" or the search engine "Google".

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