Much is said about the Metaverse and we are still not entirely clear about what we are talking about. The current metaverses “are” on the Internet, in the same infrastructure in which services such as email, online games or social networks. Its particularity, are virtual worlds that you can enter from your computer, smartphone or with virtual reality headsets. Virtual, digital, three dimensional worlds that recreate the physical world or invent one from scratch and where you can represent yourself through a digital avatarinteract with everything around you and move freely.
What we call the Metaverse is actually several metaverses. We recently saw some of the most popular, which are basically online games or virtual worlds where you can create your own games and activities to interact with other players or meet other residents of the Metaverse. We have Axie Infinity, Decentraland, The Sandbox, Metahero… Even Meta (formerly Facebook) or Microsoft are working on creating their own metaverses. The one in Meta is called Horizon Worlds and you can enter it with their virtual reality headsets goal quest. For its part, Microsoft’s is known as Microsoft Mesh and you can access it with your virtual reality headset Hololens.
The question is, is there room for all metaverses? And another interesting topic. Can the metaverses coexist? Will there be interaction between the virtual worlds or will they be independent universes? In reality, as the Metaverse is developing, the situation is going to be similar to what we find ourselves in today’s Internet. For better or worse.
The network of networks and the current metaverses
Some time ago I explained, in broad strokes, how the Internet works. It has always been called the network of networks, because it consists of a great worldwide network that sits on smaller networks of computers, servers and other devices and technologies that make communication between them possible. Despite their differences. That was precisely one of the initial purposes of the Internet: communicate any machine with each otherdespite their specifications, operating systems, etc.
In practice, what we know as Internet covers a wide spectrum of services. Social networks, web pages, emails, instant messaging, live streaming, video platforms, video calls, online music, online games… And although there are certain interactions between them, in reality each platform and/or service works on its own, independently. to the rest. They have things in common, like their content is hosted on servers, they use the same languages and standards, but they are not always compatible with each other.
In the Metaverse, or in current metaverses, something similar happens. They all start from the same idea, to create virtual worlds in which the user is represented by an avatar. From there, there are those that use blockchain, others have their own technologies, there are those with their own cryptocurrency, there are those that focus on the professional sector, others on the average user, etc. And, for now, they all coexist and coexist without problems.
New worlds, same dynamics
The Metaverse offers big changes from today’s Internet. To begin with, you enter it, or them, through virtual reality headsets and goggles. Of course, the current and future metaverses are still “being” on the Internet. Can we speak of an Internet within the Internet? Partly yes because in the metaverses you can perform different activities. Being open virtual worlds, we can travel, explore, interact with digital elements, talk with other residents or visitors, create activities or private or public spaces, buy and exchange virtual land…
But since these are several metaverses, they are independent ecosystems each. As with today’s Internet, to use certain services you have to register. In each one of them. The same thing happens in the Metaverse. Practical example. At the moment, your avatar of The Sandbox can’t walk around Horizon Worlds not even for Decentraland. Each of those current metaverses requires its own avatar.
That the same dynamics be repeated in the Metaverse as in the current Internet It is neither good nor bad. We all have several email addresses, we have accounts on different social networks, we play different online games with different users and characters… There is coexistence between all this in the same digital space, the Internet, but there is no integration as such. Nor would it be desirable, since each service, each product, has its particularities that make them unique.
Precisely, in the current metaverses we already see differences between each other. Without citing specific names, there are those who bet on ******** with a reward in the form of tokens or cryptocurrencies, others are directly focused on investing in a digital world yet to be built, others propose creating a virtual work space, others highlight the social section… Each Metaverse will have its hallmarks.
In short, the coexistence of the current metaverses is already a fact. That mergers, integrations or new metaverses arise Depends on market dynamics we live, inside and outside the digital. At the moment, many actors are interested in the Metaverse, no matter which of them is the most relevant. Millions of dollars move through the Metaverse acquiring plots of digital land, buying and selling NFTs, etc. And thousands of users are creating their avatars and exploring the different current metaverses.
to put some figures that show that the coexistence of the Metaverse works without problems. In 2020, the Metaverse moved 47,000 million dollars. By 2024, the figure is expected to rise to 800 billion dollars. As for the users of this Metaverse, purchases of virtual reality headsets worth 10,000 million dollars are estimated during 2022. And in 2024, it is expected that 34 million virtual reality devices will be used worldwide.
