How the metaverse will change the gaming experience
If you are a gamer, you might have already heard and read up on how the metaverse is set to shake up the gaming industry. But if you haven’t or want to know more about what it might mean, here are some predictions, leaders and what the experience might be like.
What is the metaverse?
The metaverse is the future of gaming – but that is a broad statement, so what does it mean? It’s been a while since Facebook rebranded to Meta and switched its focus to creating metaverse content.
The metaverse covers many technologies, including virtual reality and augmented reality, combining the physical with the digital. One of the industries that are already leading the way in this merging of the real-world and digital world is the casino industry with its live poker, online roulette and real-world dealers.
Think about a virtual world that continues to ‘be’ even after your finish your gaming sessions and that this world can be accessed by PC, mobile devices and gaming consoles.
It has expanded beyond those things, and it is envisioned by many companies that users can partake (or create) space for a new digital economy—selling and buying virtual items.
It sounds close to games like Fortnite, World of Warcraft and other similar games where there are buying, selling and worlds that move on without you.
Who are the leaders in the metaverse?
When new ways to engage and interact with consumers are presented, it offers some of the biggest game companies and tech companies to get on board. The metaverse is often referred to as Web 3.0, and it is already active – with many interesting job roles and new companies working only within Web 3.0.
The current gaming leaders in the metaverse are:
Meta: with heavy investments into VR and AR to support the idea of metaverse gaming. But the social side of Meta means that the communications within the metaverse can be facilitated.
Microsoft: Microsoft has been testing the metaverse since the Xbox 20th anniversary and has enabled players to explore the Xbox metaverse using avatars. Semi indulgent, the player can explore their gaming achievements this way.
Niantic: As Pokemon Go’s creator, Niantic has moved further into the metaverse and created more immersive content that doesn’t require a VR headset. Lightship enables creators to build virtual content for the real world.
Epic Games: Fornite has been one of the most popular games, but Fuser and Rock Band before that. Their goal is to bring experiences of the music kind to the metaverse.
Roblox: a virtual world where connection matters. They want players to engage with each other in real-time within a safe environment and with multiple tools.
What will gaming be like in the metaverse?
It is important to keep in mind that the metaverse isn’t new in gaming; there have been many games that offer that in their gaming experience. But there aren’t as many gamers regularly using these technologies in their gaming time.
The metaverse, as it looks now, will change how gamers interact with games and the community too.
One of the biggest and potentially more exciting parts of the metaverse is that it will enable more people to use digital currencies like NFTs. The gaming experience can be extended into joining forces to take out enemies and then heading to a digital concert. Paying for in-game items with NFTs or selling items for NFTs and turning those NFTs into real-world cash.
There are a lot of possibilities in which the technologies will work together.
It’s not an exaggeration to say that the gaming experience right now is up for debate. The companies above (as well as many others) are experimenting with creating content, delivering that content – and how they expect users to interact with it.
The metaverse could bring multiple large, usually competing companies together to offer a cohesive, exciting and new way to play. But one thing is overarching: a focus on connection and communication. They are blurring the lines between the real world and the digital one.
One of the first glimpses into just how interesting and dynamic the metaverse could be was the virtual concerts that Fornite hosted. Marshmello, Ariana Grande and Travis Scott are global names, and the concerts were attended by millions – virtually.
When it comes to gamers are happy to invest real-world cash in experiences, skins, tools, weapons, mounts and more. Roblox, for example, saw a rise of 161% in virtual currency purchases in 2021, and that totalled $652.3 million. It makes sense that things like NFTs and other cryptocurrencies become ingrained in the metaverse too.
As more investments, innovations, technology, and big players in the gaming world set their sights on the metaverse, the more the metaverse becomes something that is immeasurable in terms of capabilities.
The metaverse will change the gaming experience by creating a more immersive and enriching gaming experience.
Categories: OPINION PIECES
Tags: gaming experience, metaverse