What is the metaverse? Everything you need to know

If you keep an eye on developments in technology and the internet, you’ve likely heard the term ‘metaverse’ being used fairly often. Many corporations have gone all-in towards developing the future of the metaverse. A notable example being Facebook rebranding itself to Meta to underline its dedication to development of the metaverse. However, this still leaves a big question unanswered – what is the metaverse? Additionally, what does one need to get on board the metaverse hype, and how will it benefit you?

Contrary to popular belief, the metaverse is a loose term that covers an entire ecosystem of tech concepts and implementations, rather than something associated with a single corporation or brand. The metaverse encompasses various virtual worlds users create and are represented by a virtual avatar, thus helping people interact in a virtual environment and bridge the physical gap. While you could do this with a plain old display too, the future of the metaverse has a lot to do with virtual and augmented reality implementations.

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Fiction has explored the idea of the metaverse, most notably in the 2018 film Ready Player One, albeit in a dystopian universe, where the virtual world offers a more appealing lifestyle than the real world. Current metaverse concepts and implementations are still in nascent stages, relying on the right hardware for access, which has led to slow adoption of the technologies themselves.

How do I access the metaverse?

The metaverse is a wide concept, and entry into it isn’t reliant on any single platform or technology. However, you will still find yourself in need of certain hardware to get in on the metaverse concept, including tech built for virtual reality, augmented reality, and mixed reality. This usually means that you’ll need a VR or mixed reality headset to benefit from the metaverse, although there might be some basic implementations that require nothing more than your smartphone; augmented reality games such as Pokemon Go are an example of this.

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However, some of the more useful and practical implementations will require a decent virtual reality headset which is built to support specific platforms and metaverse-enabled services. Many VR headsets offer compatibility with specific hardware or platforms, including computers, gaming consoles, or within their own ecosystems, such as those designed by Meta (formerly Facebook). 

There is currently no single, standardised specification or platform for metaverse applications, so you’ll need to match the software or platform with the right hardware. However, there are attempts to develop platforms such as OpenXR, which will allow some level of interoperability between different metaverse-enabled devices, but these are still limited by the lack of a single standard and the low adoption of the technology itself.

Notable current metaverse implementations

Currently, there are only a few mainstream metaverse implementations which are available to the general public, and adoption among these is still slow. For now, implementations widely cover video games such as Second Life, Minecraft, and Horizon Worlds, many of which involve some level of social interaction where virtual avatars can interact and engage with each other in virtual reality.

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Other platforms and apps such as Horizon Workrooms allow co-workers to interact within the metaverse for collaboration and interaction, even if they might be physically distant or remote. Users can also utilise the metaverse for collaborations in design, art, architecture, and other creative or technical fields, making use of virtual reality to gain better and more immersive views and insights into their work, even at the concept and design stages.