The quote-unquote “meta-verse” has been the subject of one of the most aggressive, and strangest marketing campaigns of this decade (so far, there’s always time). I am generally a believer that the concept of the meta-verse is hitting its peak in the Gartner hype cycle. That is to say, although some form of the meta-verse may eventually become an engaging product that fully engrosses users in an endless virtual world, most of its advertised promises don’t currently amount to much more than technical demos.
From what I can tell, the meta-verse consists of content and community existing together in some form of an immersive, digital space. While Facebook and others are keenly focussed on the immersion and the digital space, I think they are missing the mark on content and community. If the goal of the meta-verse is to create a new, extensive universe where you can go anywhere and do anything, you still have to start somewhere specific with your content and community engagement (almost a virtual beach-head, if you will) before you can build out a limitless universe. And as it turns out, there are a lot of companies that have already done this successfully– drawn in users to participate in a digital world where they engage with content and community.
There are loads of examples, but four that stand out to me (partially because they are truly interesting examples, and partially because they are funny) are:
Zwift
The digital cycling and running platform has tens of thousands of users active at any given time– all to do workouts in a digital world! Zwift hosts events, connects users, and despite having often clunky user interfaces and graphics, the service has identified a specific, sustainable product that it can sell to users via a HEFTY subscription model, which might be a testament to its product-market fit. A common theme for Zwift and the following meta verse companies is also a general ignoring of deep user immersion– maybe for cycling, seeing your digital world whiz by on an iPad or laptop screen you’re trying not to sweat on is adequate for enjoyment. The platform is so popular that its even started to host professional competitions, which are surprisingly engrossing:
World of Warcraft
If the goal of the meta-verse is to detach from the bonds of our reality to dive into a fantasy world, I can’t think of a better example than World of Warcraft. While I myself was a diehard Runescape user, WoW must be paid its due. As with Zwift, WoW has succeeded by providing users a very specific experience, by letting users live out the high-fantasy adventures of their dreams for over a decade. Kill a dragon? Check. Visit a local, medieval tavern with friends? Yep. Run into a swarm of overpowered enemies with reckless abandon? Leeroy Jenkins.
Gather
Gather is a relatively new, pixelated platform that is trying to change the work-from-home and remote conference game. Gather stands out to me due to its simplicity and creativity. As a disclaimer, I am a sucker for pixelated art (see my favorite subreddits), but I think the success of Gather does hint that maybe high-fidelity graphics don’t necessarily equate to increased immersion. And besides, would I like to walk around as a life-like avatar firmly in the uncanny valley during my work hours? Well, actually maybe, but I think walking around a gigantic Christmas tree a co-worker designed as an 8-bit version of myself would be more fun:
For our #remote #Christmas party, we met in @gather_town to get together as a team and celebrate. 🎄🎁 It’s nice to see each other in person, but given the tense situation, you can also have a great time together remotely. It was fun to talk and play! #remotework #RemoteWorking pic.twitter.com/Om9DFyEpnL
— OpenProject 🇺🇦 (@openproject) December 17, 2021
A non-comprehensive list of honorable mentions
- Pokemon Go!
- Roblox
- Fortnite (common theme of video games here)
- Sea of Thieves
- Second Life
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