The Metaverse is coming. Maybe.
Roblox had a huge IPO this week, valuing the company at nearly $42 billion after its first day.
According to Roblox, over half of US kids and teens under 16 are on the platform. Since Roblox lets developers and users create their own games, its virtual world is constantly expanding. You might remember that last spring Stephen Phillips and team at Popgun, a music AI startup, launched
Splash for Roblox. Splash lets you DJ in a virtual club in front of virtual crowds. You can earn “fame” and coins for your sets and buy gear for your avatar.
Roblox’s founder and CEO, David Baszucki, believes it’s all part of a transition to the Metaverse (note the capital "M"), or the virtual world. A key part of the concept, besides digital interactions, is that the Metaverse is persistent and seamless.
Others don't believe this romanticized version of the metaverse is possible. Microsoft recently announced its mixed-reality platform called Mesh. Startups like
VR Chat have virtual worlds with strong communities. Facebook has
Horizon for Oculus and so on. Baszucki has explained that his vision for the metaverse highly depends on the operating system, app store, and hardware decisions from Google and Apple.
What do you think — is the Metaverse imminent?