These days the buzzword in the tech world is “metaverse” . Everyone wants to build the metaverse, and no one wants to miss out on being a part of it. And although the first image that we associate with this topic is that of Meta and Mark Zuckerberg, there are other enthusiasts who are also gaining space. Among many is Tim Sweeney, the CEO of Epic Games , the creator of Fortnite.
It is true that in recent times Sweeney's public appearances have been linked almost exclusively to his company's public battle with Apple and Google. But this time the executive took a break in his crusade against those of Cupertino and Mountain View to explore the potential of the metaverse , and what role his company could have in it.
According to Bloomberg, the CEO of Epic Games stated at a conference in Seoul, South Korea, that the metaverse could be capable of generating “several trillion dollars” for the world economy . “The next three years will be critical for all companies aspiring to the metaverse like Epic, Roblox, Microsoft and Facebook,” Sweeney said.
What role does 'Fortnite' play in the metaverse?
Fortnite Fortnite is the flagship product of Epic Games, and therefore it stands to reason that it has a key role in the company's plan in the metaverse. According to Sweeney, the popular video game will be one of the paths that the company will use in its aspirations for the future. The plan is to bring its number of active users per month from the current 60 million to one billion . How will they do it? That is the great unknown. What he has made clear is that the idea is no longer to speak of “game”, but of “experience”, whatever that means.
The aforementioned target figure might seem whimsical, but for the CEO of Epic Games it is crucial for the development of the metaverse. On the one hand, Tim Sweeney assures that the term “metaverse” is like “internet”, and no company can own it; but it also recognizes that the company that first reaches one billion users in the metaverse will be able to establish the platform's standards .
But Epic Games' efforts will not be limited to Fortnite, but their metaverse concept also implies the expansion of other tools such as Unreal Engine . While Sweeney mentions the possibility for all industries to have a “real-time 3D presence,” he wants his software to also serve as a foundation for the metaverse, no matter which company builds the final version of it.
An idea that is still years away from materializing Photo by Photoholgic on Unsplash It's clear that the metaverse idea is still in a very early stage of development. The growing enthusiasm of companies does not hide the fact that there are still several years to go before we begin to see products that have a concrete implementation for a “virtual life”. And it is also a reality that for most people the term —and the concept it represents— still seems strange and confusing , and is not in line with their daily concerns.
