Decentralization, Web3 and the Race to Build the Metaverse
As we anticipate the global transition to Web3 — the next generation of the World Wide Web — Facebook’s announcement to change its name to “Meta” has come under public scrutiny. After all, this change occurs amidst lawsuits involving Facebook’s alleged concerning preteens/children safety and misinformation practices to maximize profit, among others, leaked by a whistleblower. On the other hand, the change to “Meta” seemingly signals Facebook’s desire to be “The Metaverse.” But before we dive into Facebook’s Black Mirror-esque vision of the metaverse — and what other companies are cooking; what is the metaverse?
Into The Matrix
The term “metaverse” — coined by Neal Stephenson in his 1992 sci-fi novel, Snow Crash — refers to an immersive shared virtual space where everyone can meet, play games, attend concerts, and exchange all kinds of digital goods and services. To some, it’s an extension of the Web3 where a pseudonymous virtual world is running on blockchains with tokenized digital goods as well as decentralized protocols. To others, it’s about simulating immersive 3D worlds enabled by Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) technologies. In essence, it’s similar to plugging into The Matrix to escape the bounds of reality.
However, what Facebook recently presented is a proof-of-concept metaverse reminiscent of a Black Mirror scene where every data and activity is tracked by a centralized entity forcing targeted advertisements down your throat at every waking moment. This concern is perfectly reasonable as Facebook’s track record in user data collection isn’t the most flattering in the history of track records anyway — remember that whole Cambridge Analytica debacle? Pepperidge Farm remembers.
Look, I’m all for the metaverse to reach mass adoption to the point that it becomes as ubiquitous as the internet has been in the last two decades or so. But Facebook isn’t the company you want to be in charge of the metaverse for obvious reasons. Furthermore, the approach that Facebook offers isn’t exactly the best way to build the ecosystem itself. Let Facebook’s own Consulting CTO, John Carmack — a legend in the computing & tech space — tell you the reason why.
Build Products, Not Architecture
“A complex system that works is invariably found to have evolved from a simple system that worked.” — Gall’s Law
The idea of building the metaverse can be a honeypot trap for “architecture astronauts.” Carmack’s remark is referring to the fact that some programmers and designers (in this case, Mark Zuckerberg) only want to look at things from the very highest levels while skipping the low level “nuts and bolts details” of how things actually work. He even noted that what Facebook has built now is a far cry from the metaverse it envisioned. Looking back, I think it’s obvious now the reason he wanted to step down as CTO of Oculus to becoming “only” as Consulting CTO considering his disapproval of Zuck’s vision.
One of the reasons Facebook’s Oculus Quest VR is so successful in the sales and product utility department is because of Carmack’s laser focus on building the best product it can be. Doom was built as a great game first which paved the way to build id Tech Game Engine. Epic Games built Unreal Tournament and later built Fortnite game, reaching its current popularity while simultaneously iterating on Unreal Engine — a robust, one of the best modern 3D Game Engine to date — an architecture that is possible to build by building great products firsthand and iterating the architecture and wider possible use cases afterward.
Nowadays, not only can Epic’s Unreal Engine be used as a game engine, but also a wide variety of use cases. Hollywood started replacing green screens with Unreal Engine’s real-time virtual sets. Look no further at The Mandalorian series. In architecture, urban planning, and industrial space, it can do simulation works and prototyping. It only makes sense the next frontier Epic is trying to tackle is the metaverse. Consequently in this regard, Facebook’s top-down approach will complicate things down the line.
The Race is On
Big tech companies are starting to reveal their vision of the metaverse. With Facebook naming itself as “Meta,” other companies cannot stay dormant. As soon as companies see the enormous potential revenue the metaverse can bring, enormous wheels are turning, resources are flowing, and the race is on.
Here are some companies’ takes on the metaverse:
- Microsoft announced a metaverse integrated with Microsoft Teams called Microsoft Mesh, where businesses can hold meetings in a shared virtual office using avatars.
- Nvidia showcased the Omniverse: a simulation platform for interactive entertainment, industry, and scientific research.
- Apple who already implemented a variety of LIDAR-based Augmented Reality applications on their iPhones, is developing a VR headset and AR glasses according to leaks.
- Roblox — having a market value of about $45 billion, making it worth more than traditional video game giant Electronic Arts (EA)— provides a user-generated content platform for games and interactive experiences.
- Twitter launches a dedicated crypto team to focus on building Dapps (Decentralized Applications) on blockchain and Web3.
- Unity acquired Peter Jackson’s WETA Digital for $1.6 Billion. The Academy Award Winning VFX company behind the world’s most iconic films: Avatar, Lord of The Rings, Planet of The Apes; will help Unity integrate world-class 3D creation tools for the future of metaverse.
- Epic Games hosted several virtual concerts in Fortnite starring Ariana Grande, Travis Scott, Marshmello, and a bunch of other artists showing how interactive trippy in-game concerts demonstrate a glimpse of what the metaverse offers (seriously, Epic nailed virtual concerts).
The numbers don’t lie, the signs are clear. Web2 based companies are pivoting to Web3 and the metaverse. The general trend towards digitalization of the physical world points to it as the next frontiers of the World Wide Web. After all, everyone will follow where the money is.
The Finish Line
Should you worry if the metaverse would be monopolized by only a select few mega-corporations? While the age of Web2 dictates centralization to mainly Big Tech companies the likes of Google, Facebook, Microsoft, etc; I believe the same over-centralized monopoly situation couldn’t happen — or at least much harder to do — over Web3.
In essence, Web3 as the foundation of the metaverse’s digital infrastructure is the amalgamation of an interconnected, interoperable, composable set of technologies run in a decentralized manner on blockchains backed by cryptography and game theory. It’s the integration of smart contracts, data ownership, tokenomics, and decentralized governance. Everyone can own a piece of Web3, hence why it cannot be over-centralized by default.
One company can’t make all the right decisions. Facebook could make the successor to Oculus Quest 2 (now Meta Quest 2, I still think it’s dumb to change your best selling VR headset branding), but the best rendering of 3D worlds and content creation remains in the realms of game engine behemoths: Epic’s Unreal Engine and Unity’s Unity3D Engine (I might also have to add Godot Engine because it’s cool and open source). Other components of the metaverse will be best provided by organizations/companies that excel in their respective technologies.
The journey to an open and decentralized metaverse will require contributions and our best effort for it to remain open. In general, builders — founders, developers, programmers, cryptographers, you name it— see the Web3 as a chance to rebuild a more decentralized, secure, and less dystopian internet ecosystem as a whole. Ultimately, it all comes down to what the people build to break the bad habits of Web2 traditions of centralized data collection and over-exploitative monetization.
“In a world filled with creators, inventors, and innovators, the metaverse simply can’t exist as a walled garden, and the notion that any single company can chase that vision is one filled with hubris. For me, the only metaverse of consequence is one that includes everybody who wants to participate. A decentralized approach to the internet is what created the digital world that we’re flourishing in today. You can’t put it back into a box now.”
— John Riccitiello.
