In the meantime, there has been a scramble to catch up, both by brands wanting a slice of the action and lawyers trying to pin down what digital ownership really is. I think the real worldwill soon be overwhelmed by that because the possibilities of interaction in a digital world are so much deeper.' You need to think of how you can continue to update it,' he said. 'It's a huge shift in (the way) the relationship between business, creativity and consumerism is working,' he said at the Reuters Next conference. It had no immediate response to an emailed request for comment on Wednesday, and has not previously responded directly to criticisms of its metaverse plans.īut Siu said ownership is the bedrock for improvements and new paths for products and commerce, much like car ownership gave rise to baby car seat makers or how home ownership drives demand for furniture and businesses like Ikea.įor fellow metaverse pioneer Benoit Pagotto, co-founder of virtual sneaker company RTFKT, digital ownership makes room to change the roles of brands and consumers. Such plots and other virtual objects typically transact blockchain-based assets called non-fungible tokens (NFTs), sales of which topped $10 billion in the September quarter, according to market tracker DappRadar.įacebook's entry has further turbo charged interest in the space. Serious money is sloshing around in there, with a patch of 'real estate' in an online world called Decentral and changing hands for the equivalent of $2.4 million last week.

Some use augmented reality, via smart glasses,though current platforms often look more like the inside of a video game than real life. The metaverse refers to an array of shared spaces accessed via the internet. It's not the kind of place that we can actually build a business.' It's a beautiful place to be, but we probably don't want to really live there. 'What Facebook is doing with meta.is a 'fake metaverse,'unless they actually have a real description as to how we can truly own it,' said Yat Siu, chairman and co-founder of Animoca Brands, an investor in and builder of metaverse platforms,speaking on a panel at the Reuters Next conference. However, with few details beyond the rebrand, metaverse participants doubt it is ready to embrace the spirit driving creativity and profit in the space. The social media giant made waves last month by changing its name to Meta Platforms and announcing a focus on the buzzy 'metaverse'. (Sign up to our Technology newsletter, Today's Cache, for insights on emerging themes at the intersection of technology, business and policy. Facebook risks missing the point of metaverse - and a coming shift in consumers' behaviour - if it fails to permit digital ownership, according to some of the virtual world's pioneers.

Other games like monopoly tycoon