A few years ago, virtual reality was everywhere in the technology news. However, there is a new chatter that the tech industry and crypto world are keeping an eye on.
The metaverse is getting closer to enhancing every life’s aspect, from work to play. So, it is no surprise why more and more companies embrace metaverse.
The metaverse will serve as a web of communication, entertainment, and information with everyday life integration. It builds establishes on the familiar uses of the internet, and it is made possible by delivering an extended virtual world, where there will be no distinctions between the physical and virtual world.
With the “new reality,” there is a big possibility to conduct business, collect, invest, socialize, and do anything someone could imagine.
The “metaverse” term was first encountered in the novel Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson in 1992, describing a three-dimensional world. In 2003, Second Life, an online virtual world, was introduced to the public, making metaverse a rudimentary reality.
In 2006, after Roblox launched a virtual world, people enjoyed playing games created by them or others. The introductions of Blockchain and Bitcoin in 2009 further paved the way towards a user-friendly metaverse.
With the attempts of improving Blockchain and Bitcoin, Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) were born in 2012. The technological advancements brought new and improved virtual reality applications that introduced games like Pokemon Go and Fortnite and the first live metaverse concert in a video game in 2020.
Today, metaverse’s evolution offers a steady stream of fantastic technology. However, this technology is just getting started. Many emerging companies continuously create a metaverse that can massively change the way people live.
Here are the companies that pave the way to the metaverse:
Google CEO Sundar Pichai shared that metaverse is “evolving computing in an immersive way with augmented reality.” The company has a product called Google Glass, giving them a lot of augmented reality experiences.
In November 2021, the company successfully reorganized its AR and VR departments into an all-new Google Labs team, including Project Starline, a holographic video conferencing tool. The company is likely to focus on connecting people through augmented that would combine the physical and digital world.
Microsoft
Microsoft Xbox successfully established a virtual reality name for itself through Minecraft and other games, allowing players to create their own virtual worlds. However, Microsoft plans to build itself in the metaverse industry further.
The company’s primary offering is the Mesh for Teams software, which resulted from the work-from-home trend. The said software will be available on VR headsets and standard devices, creating a persistent virtual office experience.
With Mesh for Teams software, a virtual avatar will act as the user’s digital identity. These virtual avatars will allow users to explore virtual spaces in the digital world.
Facebook (Meta)
Formerly known as Facebook, Meta wants to be seen as a metaverse company. It currently invests its budget’s significant portion on extended reality. Oculus VR, Instagram, and Facebook are all under the Meta brand.
The company already owned several key elements of the metaverse. Some of its metaverse developments include VR messaging, Horizon Marketplace, and Project Cambria. CEO Mark Zuckerberg already expressed the importance of blockchains, cryptocurrencies, and NFTs.
Walmart
The big-box retailer Walmart is likely to enter the metaverse with plans to create a collection of NFTs and its own cryptocurrency. The company filed some new trademarks a few weeks ago, indicating its plan to make and sell virtual goods like personal care products, sporting goods, home decorations, and electronics.
The company has submitted a total of seven applications, including the creation of its own virtual currency and NFTs. It stated that those trademark applications are for “continuously exploring how emerging technologies may shape future shopping experienced.”
The company added, “We are testing new ideas all the time. Some ideas become products or services that make it to customers. And some we test, iterate, and learn from it.”
Trademark attorney Josh Gerben said, “There’s a lot of language in these, which shows that there’s a lot of planning going on behind the scenes about how they’re going to address cryptocurrency, how they’re going to address the metaverse and the virtual world that appears to be coming or that’s already here.”
Binance
Because of the importance of blockchain and cryptocurrency, Binance plays a critical role in the metaverse industry. While metaverse allows new processes and systems to be created, Binance helps provide the required infrastructure.
The Binance NFT Marketplace, for example, builds a place for sellers and buyers to trade virtual assets like NFTs from different blockchains. In return, interoperability between various metaverse spaces can be improved.
The company also provides a wide selection of metaverse token pairs. If metaverse has liquid markets, the industry will have the support it needs.
Tencent
Video game vendor Tencent owns the Chinese messaging platforms and social networks Tencent QQ and WeChat. These two areas have a critical role in metaverse development.
For example, WeChat offers a mobile payment feature, allowing users to link it to different social media platforms. Tencent QQ offers gaming, voice chat, films, music, and e-commerce within its web portal.
The company executives noted the role and importance of gaming infrastructure in metaverse development. In fact, it already has plenty of projects and working applications to use. The company plans to be the pioneer in metaverse gamification while leveraging its experience in the industry.
Epic Games
No doubt, Epic Games has one of the well-developed metaverse platforms nowadays, like Fortnite. This game has transformed into a vast virtual world and social platform with more than 350 million players.
The company has two main goals in entering the metaverse industry. First, it aims to expand Fortnite to a platform attracting and supporting its monthly users. Second, the company wants to make VR, AR, and 3D content that are more accessible while growing the creator ecosystem. In return, there will be an interconnected and open metaverse. This allowed people to create professional 3D content and improved the metaverse experience quality.
Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola teamed up with Tafi’s 3D creators to host an auction for NFTs’ special edition virtual loot boxes. The sets are hosted on the Ethereum blockchain and include digital apparel that someone can wear in the Decentraland, an open-source gaming platform. The winning bidder received a real-life Coca-Cola branded refrigerator.
Event participants bid on a virtual take on the brand’s classic vending machine called Coca-Cola Friendship Box. Upon opening their prizes, they found different NFT goodies, including The Sound Visualizer and Coca-Cola Bubble Jacket Wearable. The Coca-Cola-Tafi partnership built a strong connection within the crypto community.
Louis Vuitton
In 2021, Louis Vuitton launched an adventure-based game called Louis the Game as part of their second centenary celebration and to pay homage to its founder. This luxury brand created a unique world and story similar to RPGs usually found on the PlayStation.
The mobile game’s character Vivienne has to collect 200 candles through six worlds to commemorate Louis Vuitton’s birthday. Famous artist Beeple created 30 NFTs and are placed around the game, and players need to find them.
Louis Vuitton, like many other brands, wants to at into different ways it can reach younger audiences. On the other hand, unlike other blockchain games, these NFTs cannot be traded on any marketplace. In other words, they are purely digital collectibles.
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