Metaverse Wars

In 2023, the term metaverse — a combination of the words “meta” and “universe” — had become a catch-all for a diverse set of expectations about online virtual worlds, “Web3” integration, and the future of the internet. To some, the metaverse conjured images of a massive participatory videogame inspired by science fiction. To others, the metaverse meant the evolution of the internet into something more three-dimensional and social. What did seem certain was that a piece of the future was up for grabs. In October 2021, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that his company was “all in on the metaverse,” and changed its name to Meta to position itself for the coming shift. Meta’s big bet was based on one vision of a still-evolving future. Executives at other companies like Epic Games, Microsoft, Nvidia, Electronic Arts, and Roblox had different views of whether, when, and how the metaverse would take shape. Amid the hype and uncertainty, executives and entrepreneurs had to grapple with critical questions as they strove to form their own vision and strategy for the metaverse. First, was the metaverse going to emerge in the next few years or much further down the road (if at all)? Second, what would the main use cases of the metaverse be, and which one(s) would lead the way? Some expected consumer use cases like gaming to emerge first, while others expected enterprise use cases to drive adoption. Third, and perhaps most critically, would the metaverse be an open and interoperable virtual world, like the internet itself? Or would the development of the metaverse play out like the more recent models of app stores and social networks, born on the internet, but maintained as distinct walled gardens by operators and gatekeepers?