Zuckerberg stated that he wanted to talk about this so that you could see the future we were working towards, and how the major initiatives across the company will map to it. What is the metaverse? It is a virtual space where you can interact with others in digital spaces. This is a virtual environment that you can be inside, rather than looking at.These comments echo an interview he gave The Verge last Wednesday, in which he discussed some of the company's future goals.Facebook has an opportunity to use the metaverse as a way to distinguish between its moonshot efforts, and its core business. It can create a broad-reaching hub that shines in augmented reality and virtual realities platforms, but is just as accessible on desktop and mobile. While Zuckerberg's definition of metaverse may be more expansive than others, it boils down to creating a web version that feels more like an MMO rather than a collection web pages.Although it's difficult to believe, Facebook was not the first to go mobile. Facebook's apps of a decade ago were buggy and crash-prone HTML5 apps, despite the fact that native mobile apps quickly became the standard for major software companies. Zuckerberg saw that apps were quickly becoming the future and he began to shift his company's focus towards mobile. Facebook does not intend to repeat the same mistakes twice. This philosophy was first made clear by the acquisition of Oculus, a leading VR hardware manufacturer in 2014Zuckerberg stated that mobile is the platform for today and was also preparing for tomorrow's platforms during the acquisition worth two billion dollars. Oculus can create the best social platform and transform the way we communicate, work and play.This thinking is further developed by becoming a metaverse business. Roblox is the most prominent example of the metaverse, a social network where users can create their own experiences and jump between virtual worlds. Roblox is not a virtual reality platform, but rather thrives on desktop and mobile. Roblox's vision resonates with investors. The now-public company is worth over $45 billion, a fraction Facebooks value, but more than any other West-based games company.Facebook has indicated its interest in the space. They bought Crayta, a Roblox-like platform, in June for an undisclosed amount. Over the past several years they have also purchased a number of VR-focused studios.Although the company tried to create its own VR-centric social networks, many failed. While Facebook's Horizon platform, which is metaverse-like, was widely reported almost two years ago, the company has been quiet during its beta period. Andrew Bosworth, Facebook's executive director of gaming, announced this week that Vivek Sharma, Gaming VP, would take over the task under a new metaverse-focused product group headed by Instagrams Vishal Shah.Facebook's decision to rebrand itself as an AR/VR company rather than a metaverse one is a distinction. Although some may have considered specialized hardware essential for a spatial internet it is becoming increasingly obvious that people are not clamoring for early headsets, even though other gaming platforms significantly accelerate their growth. The Quest 2 headset sold better than the previous models according to Facebook. However, it is not clear if they really need to have a whole world with headsets and glasses on their heads to fully embrace the metaverse idea or if that would be just a cherry on top.
