“We have four times the demand from brands simply e-mailing us. “It’s crazy, man,” said Eric Klein, chief executive of a Canadian firm called MetaSpace REIT that is accumulating land and works with companies on branded experiences. In one world called Decentraland, land parcels are selling for tens of thousands of dollars one prime parcel is currently listed for more than US$1-million. To that end, fashion retailers such as Tommy Hilfiger and Forever 21 are selling NFT clothing, Ariana Grande has staged digital concerts, and companies are setting up virtual offices and stores. Fashion brands like Gucci are embracing NFTs and testing out different approaches to selling digital wearables. PwC is telling business leaders that “getting started early can help make sure your company won’t be left behind.” Accenture warns executives that if they ignore it, they “will soon be operating in worlds defined by others.”Ī virtual Gucci Garden space on Roblox. projects 25 per cent of people will spend at least one hour a day in the metaverse by 2026 for work, shopping or entertainment. estimates the metaverse will represent a US$1-trillion annual market. Lately, a virtual world called Decentraland has attracted a variety of companies eager to test the digital waters.Ĭonsultants are salivating. That land, along with any clothing purchased for your avatar, are technically non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and transactions are recorded on a blockchain. If so inclined, you can buy digital property, build on it, and rent it out or sell advertising space. Such lands have their own cryptocurrencies and marketplaces for digital clothing and accessories for avatars. (The company’s VR division lost more than US$10-billion last year.)ĭecentralized worlds are also emerging that are run by users, not private companies, who vote on proposals affecting how each operates. His company is betting on it, changing its name from Facebook to Meta (formally, Meta Platforms Inc.) and releasing a VR platform called Horizon Worlds. “It’s about a time when basically immersive digital worlds become the primary way that we live our lives,” he said recently on a podcast. Mark Zuckerberg for one, thinks of the metaverse as a singularity.
Some people argue the metaverse will not exist until you can port your digital identity across different worlds – which might not ever happen – and what we have now is a precursor. Roblox, the wildly popular kids’ gaming platform, has retroactively been labelled as part of the metaverse, as have Fortnite and Minecraft. Reporter Joe Castaldo dons his new Oculus headset and steps into the Metaverse. Some require a virtual reality headset, while others can be accessed with just a laptop. The metaverse is an elastic term, but think of it as encompassing any virtual world in which you can explore, shop, play games, socialize or even work.
It’s an important question, as some analysts contend we will spend much more time in immersive constructed lands in the years ahead. What is the metaverse? A look at NFTs, virtual real estate and how companies are investing in the digital worldīut the question I was most interested in – whether at a Dolce & Gabbana digital fashion show with anthropomorphic cats for models, or exploring a desolate virtual Wendy’s restaurant – was simply: What are we doing here? I heard about Jesus at a virtual megachurch, meditated among digital trees and attended a group discussion on the purpose of life. I found sleep rooms, softly lit spaces with beds and pillows for quiet contemplation – but also cuddling, as avatars held one another and murmured. I popped by a job fair, where only cryptocurrency and metaverse firms were hiring. I made virtual coffees for people who could not actually ingest said beverages. I went to a dance party at a virtual club, where dozens of people in the form of cartoonish avatars were bumping, grinding and throwing dollar bills in the air.
In the metaverse, I saw things that were strange, confounding, depressing and intriguing – and once, even beautiful.