All news: Metaverse

Metaverses are a type of entertainment that allows users to interact with each other in a virtual universe through the avatars they have created or, if I may say so, alter egos. The term "metaverse" first appeared in Neil Stevenson's 1992 science fiction novel Snow Crash.

Since that moment, the idea of ​​virtual reality has been repeatedly mentioned and used in various games and films. Among the films, it is worth mentioning such examples as “The Matrix”, “Protagonist”, “Ready Player One”, “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (Season 4)”, as well as the anime “Sword Art Online”.

In terms of games, the topic of virtual reality has been covered in such titles as Fallout, Arcanum, Final Fantasy, Cyberpunk 2077, Fortnite, Minecraft and of course VR Chat. The latter should be singled out in a special way, since its basis is built precisely on the interaction of players with each other in the virtual space, and playing without a VR helmet is rather an additional function, and not one of the main ones.

The word “metaverse” began to gain particular popularity in 2021 and 2022. In 2022, it has become so popular that it could become the Oxford Word of the Year. This means that many people, whether they are connected to the world of the crypto industry or not, are already aware of the development of virtual worlds.

In general, the concept of “metaverse” reflects a virtual reality environment in which users can interact with each other using avatars and hold various events. The Oxford University press commented on the rise in popularity of the word “metaverse” as follows:

“Usage increased as we discussed hybrid work, debated ethics, and wondered about the possibility of an all-online future.”

The metaverses are clearly at an early stage of their development at the moment. This can be especially noticed if we draw an analogy with the world of cryptocurrencies in general. If the first cryptocurrency appeared in 2009, then gamification in the vastness of cryptocurrencies appeared only in 2017 in the form of an iOS application in the form of the CryptoKitties game.

For the most part, the concept of “metaverse”, although it can relate to topics outside the cryptocurrency market, however, the concept has settled specifically in the sector of NFT games, one of the areas of the crypto industry.

In the metaverses, players can, roughly speaking, live an alternative life. There they, as in other simulators, can buy and sell plots of land, real estate, as well as clothes and other collectibles that are simply in the possession of users.

The key differences between the metaverses and conventional computer games are the online component and the ecosystem, which is built purely on the interaction of players with each other, as well as the blockchain technology on which the creation of these very metaverses is implemented.

Another distinctive feature of the metaverses from ordinary games is the possibility of earning cryptocurrencies that can be withdrawn to the real world, so that users can not only have a good time, but also earn money.

In other words, the metaverse is a virtual world made on blockchain technologies, which is designed for playing online and making money in it. In the future, developers want users to be able to find an alternative to reality in the form of immersion in virtual worlds, which can alleviate some of the moments that are not available to ordinary users.

So, for example, tourist areas are already being created in the The Sandbox project, which are designed to show users analogues of real tourist places in the virtual world.

It's also worth noting that the metaverses do make working in the real world easier. For example, the International Police announced the creation of its own metaverse, which will help keepers of order from all over the world to gather in the virtual headquarters of INTERPOL, which was made in its image in Lyon, France.

You should be careful, as the development of the metauniverses also develops the capabilities of criminals, who more and more often move into the online space, which INTERPOL representatives never tire of warning about.

Speaking about the transition to online, it is worth mentioning large companies that are beginning to think of creating metaverses aimed at improving the performance of the structure in the real world. For example, the French company Renault has created the world's first industrial metaverse, which will help improve some aspects of car development and simplify the process of establishing logistics.

The French thought of taking their factories and completely transferring their physical copies to the virtual world in order to automate processes in some way. According to the calculations of their experts, this will help save 50-60% of the resources expended in some aspects, and in a few years in the future it will save tens and even hundreds of millions of dollars.

Summing up all of the above, we can conclude that in the hands that can properly use the benefits of the metaverses, virtual worlds are our future, which can improve living on Earth, and even give someone an alternative to real life. This trend will be interesting to follow. Stay tuned with EGW to keep up to date with current events from the world of the metaverses!