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A Multiverse Of Metaverses

Forbes Technology Council

Partner with Altman Solon, an independent strategy consulting firm exclusively focused on tech, media and telecom.

The metaverse is coming and for some sectors is already here. Virtual, augmented and mixed reality experiences stand ready to change the way consumers interact with applications, environments, and virtual assets, and companies are vying for their share of the virtual economy. Google, Amazon, Microsoft, Meta and Apple (GAMMA) have each engaged some level of metaverse-focus in their current offerings, but it’s early and there are opportunities for single solution players with unique assets to compete for a share of the market. Among the likely winners in metaverse:

Gaming: The original and reigning metaverse champion, gaming has been creating virtual and augmented world experiences for years and is undeniably the largest commercial metaverse today. Companies like Microsoft with Xbox Live (and its pending Activision acquisition) and Sony with its PlayStation franchise are the two most dominant players, with Facebook Gaming, Amazon Luna, Amazon Games and Google Stadia also having stakes in this space as well. Beyond tech players with gaming assets, pureplay gaming companies are well positioned to win in this space.

Assets: Cryptocurrencies, providing a digital means of exchange, are among the more commercially mature metaverse artifacts. More recently, virtual real estate has become big business, with millions spent (even at this early stage) by professional and individual investors looking to stake a claim in key virtual environments—a virtual land grab.

Productivity: Microsoft, Google and Meta will look to establish (Meta, Google) or expand (Microsoft) their existing assets to create virtual environments that allow workers to collaborate and connect.

Shopping: From AR virtual dressing or makeup mirrors in retail stores to shopping in a virtual environment and touring a new home without leaving yours, shopping will be reimagined in virtual environments—and sometimes paid with virtual currency.

Entertainment: Whether a virtual theme park in which one can interact with characters or an immersive tour of a distant location, entertainment is a winning application for immersive media such as AR/VR/MR. Companies with unique content assets (e.g., Disney) will have unique market influence.

In most of the above categories, a virtual environment may be created and maintained, both by platform owners and by their users. Games will be built by developers but may be expanded by users; entertainment will place the viewer in the middle of the scene rather than in a movie seat watching a flatscreen; productivity users will create and inhabit meeting rooms via their avatars or real presence in a world of their making; and shopping will occur in themed environments (e.g., buy games, rent/buy entertainment), as well as in purpose-built virtual stores that deliver real goods (e.g., Amazon’s inevitable virtual commerce store) and virtual goods (e.g., credits for games, virtual content). Beyond these broad categories, there will likely be vertical uses as in education, commercial and consumer training (AR for systems maintenance/repair), retail (virtual dressing and makeup mirrors), health/wellness (VR for relief to terminally ill, immersive fitness equipment like Peloton), real estate (virtual tours) and others.

Overlapping And Distinct Metaverses

Each domain-specific multiverse noted above will control its own world. While business software/services companies like Microsoft develop virtual environments for work, its Xbox (and soon Activision) franchise is the big metaverse play in its portfolio. In addition to having a significant play in these two important market domains, Microsoft is one of a few large tech companies offering head-worn hardware, software and services solutions through its Hololens mixed reality solution, currently focused on enterprise (training) and public sector (defense).

Recently rebranded Meta committed its company’s identity to extend its community and collaboration assets from consumers to businesses, introducing its Presence platform for developers to build and extend their environment. On the consumer side, Meta brings its head-worn consumer device Oculus and Facebook Gaming to the virtual table.

Google’s business and consumer information (search, maps, etc.) and entertainment (YouTube) assets coupled with its Stadia cloud gaming glasses and services and its AR-based Google Glass eyewear have it primed for the metaverse. Apple is expected to release its own AR glasses, which will leverage the company’s considerable strengths in devices. It’s unclear whether the company will have a play in content development and virtual environments (other than its AR device environment), so it is likely the company will let its platform strength play out in the real world (i.e., using Macs to design VR/AR/MR, allowing access to AR solutions that work on its devices/systems, and enabling content and solutions through its App Store). Finally, Amazon’s virtual assets might include its game controller (Luna), its tablet, watch and connected TV assets, and its Amazon Games services.

Platform Vs. Platform

Drawing users into their experience or asset, these different environments have opportunities to expand their offerings by buying, building or partnering. For example, while Meta is known for creating social communities, it promotes its environment as one in which colleagues can meet and co-work, similar to that of Microsoft. When one talks about platforms, it’s hard not to consider the potential for large platform players (GAMMA) and large cryptocurrency players to extend their existing strongholds into this new landscape. However, the metaverse lends itself particularly well to gaming and entertainment—leaving room for large one-note players (pure gaming, pure media, virtual currency/real estate) with unique assets in this space to extend their strongholds.

Competitive Dynamics

Each company noted above stands to capture its fair share of the virtual economy. In the near term, it is unlikely that any single company will control the metaverse, though some will have multiple plays across hardware, software, and/or web, content and game services. Accordingly, we can anticipate the world evolving into a multiverse of metaverses, each having its own use and form. Given the varying ways in which each of these companies monetizes its respective business model, the competitive dynamics should be as interesting in the virtual world as they are in the real world.


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