It is funny how we pick up on things so quickly, rather easily. Be it Artificial Intelligence or Machine Learning or NFTs or cryptocurrency or AR/VR, we humans have accepted these latest technologies with open arms the moment they came into our lives. Now, take, for instance, the metaverse, the internet is abuzz with this word. Talking about the net, incidentally, the metaverse is like stepping inside the internet. Believe it or not, within a matter of a few months, $10 billion has been invested in metaverse technology by Meta. And by 2024, the metaverse’s market will reach around $800 billion. Here is our take on the future of Metaverse. So, as we step into the metaverse, which translates to beyond the universe, let’s find five ways in which this concept will transform our world in the near future.
1. The immersive life
The technologies used to build the metaverse will provide an immersive experience that is unheard of. Although in its nascent stages, the metaverse, is an ambitious project that will provide the users with an up-close and personal learning experience of anything present under the sun. For instance, sitting in the comfort of your home, you will be able to watch and feel a football match taking place in Madrid’s stadium, as though you are physically present there. In one of the biggest updates pertaining to this field, Disney patents the metaverse technology for its theme park. This will track the visitors while projecting personalized 3D images for them. “Our efforts to date are merely a prologue to a time when we’ll be able to connect the physical and digital worlds even more closely, allowing for storytelling without boundaries in our own Disney metaverse,” said Bob Chapek, CEO Walt Disney. This brings the company a step closer to creating its virtual world simulator for the theme park. Living an immersive life will be a way of living in the future, and the metaverse opens up these doors for us.
2. Virtual Concerts and exhibitions
The art and culture sector is revamping itself, and how! Meeting people virtually, when you are physically at your home and for that matter anywhere on earth, is no longer a dream of the distant future. This change has already begun. Concerts held on metaverse are making artists a millionaire. When the Fortnite concert began, it instantly become a hit. Dressed the way they want, fans from any part of the world, were able to attend the concert virtually. One of their earliest concerts was attended by 11 million people. Soon, artists like Travis Scott, Marshmello, Ariana Grande, Justin Beiber, and others, set foot in this virtual world. A few months back Travis Scott, an American rapper, performed his first concert via metaverse. Fans who attended the immersive concert raved about the experience tagging it ‘surreal and spectacular’. And like in the actual gig, fans here can buy merchandise and live the life that they dream of.
Urban Break 2021, Asia’s largest urban art fair, which took place in August 2021 at COEX, revolutionized the cultural experience of the people. They used ‘ifland’ SK Telecom’s metaverse portal to exhibit artists’ work. Art and culture all across the world are getting their due credit as people are showing interest in understanding it. With COVID shutting a lot of doors for travellers, art and exhibition enthusiasts, technology like the metaverse will come in handy for people like them to continue their passion and bridge the gap.
3. The virtual yet real estate
In all fairness buying property in the metaverse is just like buying houses in the real world. Just that in the metaverse, the real world exists in 3D. Properties in the verse are going on sale and selling just like hotcakes. In the metaverse, although the risks are high, the rewards are even higher. Just last year, real estate sales in the metaverse reached $500 million, and studies suggest this number will double this year. On the same lines, taking real estate to the next level is Metaverse Property, a leading virtual real estate company offering exposure to this burgeoning industry via the Metaverses. Their mission is to build better places to call home begins with doing what’s right.
Creating a jaw-dropping concept in this arena is Republic Realm, a leader in metaverse and NFT innovation and investment. Recently they paid almost $4.3 million to purchase a mammoth land on Sandbox, the largest real estate platform. Thinking beyond imagination, Republic Realm is creating a luxury, master-planned real estate development in the Sandbox named Fantasy Island. Reports suggest that 90 per cent of the land is already sold. Real estate in the metaverse is one of the segments whose outreach grow beyond boundaries. Investing in this concept is surely futuristic. Buying land in the metaverse is legit like securing your future. But the golden rule is to research thoroughly before spending the money.
4. Dating on the flipside
Online dating has always been a huge concern for many. They do want to meet a nice partner but look at the amount of work that goes behind just one date. Not to mention, the seeping tension about the genuineness of the person who you are about to meet. Technology creates magic, and magic is what you need when you are dating someone. The lockdown and outbreak of COVID made the dating scene quite tacky and at times, scary as well. Several dating apps, put their best foot forward to end this problem. Tinder, an online dating app, has been in this business for a long time. Taking a cue from the buzz around metaverse, Renate Nyborg, CEO Tinder, at the recent conference announced that they are “exploring how to blur the boundaries between offline and online worlds”.
Bumble is also setting foot into the race of integrating the metaverse, Web 3.0, and online dating. This move will create new engagement, participation, and creator models. On November 10, 2021, during Bumble’s third-quarter earnings call, Tariq Shaukat, President Bumble, said, “On the metaverse piece, we’re really taking a Web 3 lens on this, in particular, meaning we are – I’m sure somebody will build a more virtual experience and we will happily engage and be there when they do that with avatars, etc. But what we think is really interesting in the near term is the application of blockchain and crypto in general to the experience that our communities have. Fundamentally, we are not just an ecosystem, but we are a community of people.” Dating in the metaverse will not make meeting people ‘more real’, but it will give them a chance to be themselves.
5. The games that we play
Be it Minesweeper, Mario, Roadrash, Unreal, The Lord of the Rings Online, or any other online game; the gaming segment has always made sure to capture the mind and soul of the audience. And the inception of the metaverse has given the gaming industry a look that was never imagined. In the metaverse, gaming will almost be social, as though you are playing it in the real life. Secondly, the experience is flexible and more immersive, as the gamers can transform the game as per the convenience. Another thing is, play-to-earn will gain a lot more momentum. The assets won by players can be sold off for cryptos. Here Virtual Reality (VR) will play a great role. It is said that 59 per cent of the industry believe that VR will dominate the gaming segment.