The metaverse’s appeal hinges on its designers and hosts

For decades, science fiction predicted we would be cruising around in hovercrafts and experiencing the bulk of our lives through virtual reality by the 21st century, yet we are still a far cry from a digital world to spend our days in. The concept of a “metaverse” has been defined by Hollywood as a fully fleshed out virtual world where people in digital avatar form visit to establish emotional connections with others while indulging in all of their entertainment vices with just a pair of VR goggles. Over the years, multiple attempts at making metaverses a reality — from Linden Labs’ Second Life to IMVU — generated the occasional hype, but the latest gold rush became supercharged when Roblox’s March IPO in March had a whopping $41 billion valuation and Mark Zuckerberg announced Facebook will become a metaverse company within 5 years. As the hottest topic in Silicon Valley, the metaverse finally seems commercially viable.

While the notion of the metaverse as a digital platform where an all-encompassing array of interactive experiences are integrated into a series of seamlessly connected content universes is aspirational, it will take decades and deep pockets to mirror the movies. If it takes a village to raise a child, imagine how many creative professionals and engineers it takes to create a metaverse? In the meantime, it will be going through several construction phases with content creators, the games industry, and smart investors playing a critical role early on.