Into the Metaverse

Welcome to episode 15 of This Week in the Metaverse, a weekly show in which I provide commentary on three news items with fantastic guest co-hosts. Joining me today as guest co-host is Jonathan Stringfield, whom we recently hosted on our podcast! Jonathan is currently the VP of global business research and marketing at Activision Blizzard and recently published a new book - Get In The Game. Our three topics for the past week: First, we talk about investments into avatar-focused ventures and this week we’ve seen announcements on two deals that are noteworthy: the first one is Inworld AI which raised $50M to populate games and the metaverse with smart characters. the second one is Ready Player Me, a cross-game metaverse avatar platform that allows users to explore virtual worlds with one consistent identity, has closed a $56 million funding round led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z). Then, we talk about Bloomberg’s conversation with Xbox’s chief Phil Spencer as hopes for fewer exclusive titles by Xbox and would like to see more interoperability among consoles in the future. We finish with news from The Sandbox, the blockchain-based platform of virtual worlds that aspires to become an open metaverse launched this week its alpha season 3 with 90 metaverse experiences and 100 hours of gameplay that’s available for users.

Building an open, decentralized, democratic Internet is the aim of many web3 metaverse platforms, seeking to create a better future for our digital lives than the one controlled by walled gardens fueled by personal data. Marja Konttinen, the marketing director of Decentraland, joins us to break down the ethos of their platform, how they view the metaverse as a public good, just how nascent the development cycle of web3 metaverse platforms is and the challenges on educating new entrants into the metaverse on its potential.

On episode 14 of This Week in the Metaverse, Yon talks about the new partnership between the virtual influencer, Miquela, and teen retailer brand, Pacsun, and why it’s an interesting experiment. Then he closes the loop on the unsolicited acquisition proposal from AppLovin to acquire Unity which resulted in Unity’s board rejecting it and staying committed to the merger with ironSource. He finishes the episode yet another disappointing way in which Meta shares with the public the evolution of its Horizon Worlds.

Second Life was one of the first examples of a proto-metaverse gaming platform, a persistent, shared, virtual world where individuals could socialize, play and learn together. We were delighted to have a wide-reaching conversation with Philip Rosedale, the the founder and creator of Second Life, where we dive into Second Life’s renaissance in the last few years, the push of large technology companies into the metaverse and what that means for its development, the prospects for more live entertainment to move into metaverse platforms and empowering creators with more real-time 3D development tools.

On the 13th episode of This Week In the Metaverse, Yon and Matthew dive into a few key topics and circle back to ones from recent weeks with additional color and updates. First, we look at Roblox’s financial results for the second quarter of 2022, look at some of the key numbers for a strong July and look ahead to the platform’s future prospects. Yon also gives a good overview of what, as someone building a business on Roblox, he is most keen to track. Then, we circle back to Unity to discuss the company’s China joint venture partners and what that means for its development in the country. Next, we dive into AppLovin’s unsolicited takeover offer for Unity. And then lastly, we discuss announcements in and around SIGGRAPH including Unity partnering with Microsoft Azure, Unity winning a new government contract and Nvidia’s Omniverse Avatar Cloud Engine.

Wildcard is an ambitious blockchain-powered game from Playful Studios, looking to leverage blockchain in a unique and novel way to create new social connections within a AAA-quality experience. Paul Bettner, the CEO of Playful Studios, joins us to break down the ambitious Wildcard projec,t how social interactions are key in the metaverse, building great web3 games to attract the billions of global gamers and how Roblox and other UGC platforms are changing the game of game development as we enter the metaverse era.

On the 12th episode of This Week in the Metaverse, we dive into three topics that are relevant to the development of the metaverse and on which we believe we can provide unique expertise and insight given our experiences and backgrounds. First, we look at a Reuters report that Unity is considering spinning off its China business. Then, we discuss another Reuters article that suggests Tencent is interested in increasing its stake in Ubisoft. And lastly, we discuss earnings reports from Activision Blizzard, Electronic Arts, Sony and Nintendo and look ahead to reports from Roblox and Take-Two.

A common thread in our conversations on Into the Metaverse around all things crypto, blockchain and web3 is making the user experience of these applications easier to use for those that don’t fall into the category of crypto-natives. Christine Renee Perry of Skale Labs joined us to discuss how developers are trying to ease the on-ramp to web3, how Skale is positioning itself in a fast-growing web3 ecosystem and what it’s like building web3 infrastructure in crypto winter.

On this 11th episode of This Week in the Metaverse, Yon and Matthew once again break down three key items that we deem influential to the development of the metaverse and on which we believe we can provide a unique perspective. First, we dive into Meta’s earnings and new product announcements, including news that a web-based version of Horizon and the mixed reality Cambria headset are coming out this year. Second, we discuss developer economics of Roblox after Naavik published a great article on the subject. And lastly, we discuss Supersocial’s new experience launch with Nars Cosmetics and the future of branded experiences on the platform.

A lot of the discussion around the metaverse is just about what already exists today in online games and elevating those experiences to the next level. Jonathan Stringfield, PhD, the VP of global business research and marketing at Activision Blizzard, joins us to breakdown why gaming is at the forefront of the metaverse development cycle, the influx of capital into the sector and what esports looks like in the metaverse era. And make sure to check out his new book, “Get in the Game: How to Level Up Your Business with Gaming, Esports, and Emerging Technologies” out today.