Microsoft is about to kill Zuckelberg’s Metaverse before it even launches. And they won’t even need to build a virtual reality device to do it. This probably sounds a bit far-fetched after all, since Zuckelberg is so determined to invest in the metaverse that he has changed the name of his entire company just to focus on that goal.
Meta plans to invest $180 billion over the next ten years to build the ultimate metaverse platform. At first glance, Zuckelberg seems well positioned because billions of people use Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp every day to connect with friends and he also owns the largest virtual reality company Quest. Although virtual reality is still seen as a toy for most users, Quest outsold Xbox in 2021, there are many signs that Microsoft will be left out of the competition to create the ultimate metaverse platform….
There are three key reasons why Microsoft will pose an uphill battle to Zuckerberg, let’s look at them one at a time.
4 aspects that will determine who will win the race to develop the best metaverse:
Microsoft dominates the video game industry
When you explain to a normal user what the metaverse is, many of them the first thing they say is… Isn’t this the same as a video game? It is a virtual scenario where you can experience a parallel life. In this sense it could be said that yes, we already have a Metaverse. The world of video games is a good starting point for the Metaverse.
Hundreds of avatars interacting with each other, digital economies emerging from the exchange of goods within the digital ecosystem.
We don’t know which platform will be dominant yet, but what is clear is that the world of gaming and entertainment will play a crucial role in determining which Metaverse will prevail over the rest. And that is why Microsoft’s strategy is so good.
Microsoft has been investing in the world of video games for more than 10 years, through projects such as XBox or Doom in the 90s. In 2014 Microsoft acquired Minecraft for $2.5 Billion. In 2020 Microsoft bought ZeniMax Media for $7.5 billion and finally in 2022 Microsoft bought Activision for $68.7 billion all cash. Activision has the biggest games known today, such as Call of Duty, Tony Hawk, Crash Bandicoot, among many others. Here are all the video game development studios currently owned by Microsoft
The characteristic of these games is that they are multiplatform, that is to say that they are not linked to a specific console, but you can play them on a Nintendo, or a Play Station.
On the other hand, Facebook only gave us FarmVille
So if the metaverse evolves from gaming platforms, Zuckelverg is going to run into a big problem because of his lack of knowledge in the field.
The importance of hardware in virtual reality VR
Facebook has a big advantage in this regard, and that is that it has the largest virtual reality company to date Quest. However, is this relevant enough to eliminate another metaverse platform with better usability and more entertainment from the equation? We question this, as the trend in the industry is that hardware makes less and less sense. Moreover, without going any further, games like Call of Duty can be played across different devices. So to think that hardware will determine which Metaverse platform prevails is an irrelevant assumption.
B2B and the importance of telework for the metaverse
If we look at the B2B world, we see that Micrsoft has a lot to gain over Zuckelberg. The reason is that Microsoft has been developing software for businesses for years. In recent years it has focused its efforts on the development of Teams, which has seen exponential growth with teleworking.
We know that the metaverse in the B2B world is not as attractive as in the video game industry, but it is very likely that a natural evolution of teleworking will eventually come through the development of a metaverse designed for business use.
@cronuts.digital Microsoft and the metaverse #metaverse #nft #nft #nft #blockchain #cronutsdigital #web3crypto #defi #spanishtiktok #chainblockchain ♬ FEEL THE GROOVE – Queens Road, Fabian Graetz.
The connivance of different metaverses
Currently, there is no single social network, so we may see different metaverses develop for different uses. It could be that Meta will end up developing a metaverse for playful social interactions such as Instagram and facebook and instead Microsoft will focus on developing the metaverse for business interactions, such as with Linkedin. Both Meta and Microsoft are investing resources to position themselves as leaders in the sector and not be left out of the tsunami that everyone is predicting.
