Orlando wants to be known as the MetaCenter.
Orlando wants to be known as the MetaCenter.
Categories

Orlando will test if a physical city can be the center of the metaverse

  • Posted byby Dean Takahashi
  • Updated
  • 5 min

Orlando wants to be the center of the metaverse. The Florida city has teamed up with Unity Technologies, the game engine maker, to create a digital twin of the city.

The city will be one of the first to test one of the central theories of the metaverse, the universe of virtual worlds that are all interconnected, like in novels such as Snow Crash and Ready Player One. Once the domain of science fiction, the vision for the metaverse is on the verge of becoming a reality.

Unlock premium content and VIP community perks with GB M A X! Join now to enjoy our free and premium perks. 

Join now →

Sign in to your account.

Written by

Dean Takahashi

Dean Takahashi is editorial director for GamesBeat. He has been a tech journalist since 1988, and he has covered games as a beat since 1996. He was lead writer for GamesBeat at VentureBeat from 2008 to April 2025. Prior to that, he wrote for the San Jose Mercury News, the Red Herring, the Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, and the Dallas Times-Herald. He is the author of two books, "Opening the Xbox" and "The Xbox 360 Uncloaked." He organizes the annual GamesBeat Next, GamesBeat Summit and GamesBeat Insider Series: Hollywood and Games conferences and is a frequent speaker at gaming and tech events. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.