Should I invest in the metaverse in 2023?

Hands-on with the Meta Quest Pro in a virtual working environment

Hypes come and go, new social networks grow and disappear, it is a story we have known for decades. A question that will have to be answered in many marketing plans for 2023 is: should we invest in the metaverse?

I'll get straight to the point: if your strategy is to always be on the cutting edge of the latest digital technologies, then you should do at least one metaverse experiment in 2023. Or at least try something with VR (virtual reality) or AR (augmented reality). If you are a follower who chooses not to go all in until a technology or channel has proven itself, then you still have a few years to go and see the cat out of the tree.

Now that that difficult question is off the table, I'd like to share a few experiences. Over the past few months, I have delved a little deeper into the virtual world and done some hands-on experimentation. The most immersive experiment was with Meta, the self-proclaimed leader of the metaverse.

What did I learn about Meta and the metaverse?

1. Platform: Meta Horizon Worlds
   Meta Horizon Worlds has not yet been launched in Belgium or the Netherlands (only France and Spain in Europe for now), so you can't start experimenting on that platform for now. The four "demos" I saw in the Meta buildings were not real Meta Horizon demos but applications on the Oculus VR/AR headset. Someday those applications should become part of Meta Horizon Worlds but not yet so. In other words, the Meta Horizon Worlds platform is not there yet.

2. Software
   So I could not test the virtual world but did test the different applications. The typical action and sports games and immersive experiences you get in a VR world are no different here than in any other game, so not much new under the sun there. I was intrigued by the 'future of work' demo, though. Sitting in a virtual meeting suddenly took on a much more interesting dimension indeed. Choosing your own spot, and the sound adjusting to that situation (voices of other people in the meeting), a cool meeting place (a beach if you like) and a well-functioning interactive board make such a meeting a lot better than the flat Zoom screen. And the eye-tracking through which the eyes and eyebrows of the avatars follow those of the participant seems a detail, but in (virtual) reality it really helps take the experience to another level.

3. Hardware
   Most of the demos worked on an Oculus Quest 2, and you will not spend hours with that in the metaverse. For one, my not particularly exotic glasses won't fit a Quest 2. It's great for gaming and the controllers do a great job. However, the Oculus Quest Pro (€1800!) is a lot better and perfectly usable with glasses, for example. My hands were immediately recognised; clicking takes some practice, but the controllers work very well. Give it another year or two and these things will become affordable and even better, and then we'll all have one on our desks.
   There was also a demo model of the Ray-Ban Stories, a classic Ray-Ban with slightly thicker arms containing a camera (photo/video) and micro/speakers. By itself, the thing can't do much, but it does give an idea of what metaverse glasses might look like in the future.

Conclusion: Fun toys, we are not there yet and the hardest questions are yet to come. In particular: how will these virtual worlds deal with human issues such as privacy, gender equality, violence (physical and verbal), propaganda, etc? In my mind, I see a Musk-style metaverse Twitter with extremely 'animated' discussions ... wonder what that will give. Or will it be a Zuck dictatorship?