the big thing
This metaverse hype ain’t it.
As someone with a burgeoning collection of progressively dusty virtual reality headsets, I can confirm that the industry’s problems are not due to a lack of Facebook-branded social spheres or a plethora of disappointingly fungible assets. Every time you hear “metaverse” I want you to think of a cackling Meta communications executive or a marketing manager at a rando company trying to give his aging corporate parent shell the impression of being “innovative.” The term means nothing, but that’s not to say it isn’t representative of an interesting (albeit philosophically distinct) gaming trend.
People aren’t hanging out as avatars in wholly 3D places for fun; this is an incredibly niche habit. People are hanging out in 3D places because video games are amazing. Sure, the monetization of modern games are frustrating and the industry could certainly use some young blood to shake up tired practices that gamers hate, but massive multiplayer titles are getting deeper and more intoxicating and that’s a trend worth betting on.
It’s a trend that Microsoft bet big on this week when they made the surprising move of acquiring Activision-Blizzard for an eye-popping $68 billion.
The deal, if ultimately approved by regulators, would bring a wealth of gaming franchises to Microsoft including Call of Duty, Overwatch, World of Warcraft, Guitar Hero, StarCraft and Candy Crush. The deal would add to an already-growing wealth of Xbox Studios assets. Microsoft already snapped up ZeniMax Media properties including The Elder Scrolls series, Doom and Fallout in a 2020 $7.5 billion deal.
Like the web 2.0 properties before it, the “metaverse” is all about owning a user’s time online. In some terms, what the metaverse really seems to be, is the idea of users spending time online doing increasingly dull things, but as an avatar in a 3D virtual world. Gaming is focused on keeping things far from dull, but as MMOs grow more lifelike, the hope is that these separate worlds all bleed into each other and that users begin thinking about their online presence as something more cohesive.
Consolidating all of gaming’s titles behind a single user interface has been one of the more unbelievable elements of “metaverse” promises, but with money comes options and Microsoft has proven its willingness to spend its way into dominance. Xbox was a firm second-place finisher in the last bout of the console wars, with PlayStation exclusives providing a boost to Sony’s efforts which enticed gamers towards the PS4. With Game Pass, Xbox is making a bet on a subscription plan that can bring gamers access to the most popular titles with a single monthly transaction.
Building a 3D online home which gradually encroaches on what users do in the real world, is a decidedly weird future, but it’s clearly at the end of a road that many people have already been on for a while. Facebook (Meta) is taking the hardware route aiming to provide an experience that isn’t possible on consoles, but Microsoft is spending its way there with its substantial cash reserves. It’s hard to imagine that Microsoft doesn’t have more luck.
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