The future of the consumer metaverse — and how tech titans could shape it

Smokin' meats with Zuck's avatar... Meta (fka Facebook) has been positioning its "Horizon Worlds" as a building block in the metaverse since 2019. The metaverse = a vision for an internet you can be inside of — from VR learning to meditating under (virtual) Mount Everest. Last week, Meta finally opened its virtual world to every adult in the US. You no longer need an invitation to enter, but you do need a $300 Oculus headset.

• In Horizon Worlds, customizable (but legless) avatars play games and socialize in VR. Meta said users have built thousands of worlds in the app since its beta launch last year.
• Not-quite-metaverse: Still, Horizon Worlds’ launch represents a giant step that Meta’s taken to expand VR, which is key to the meta-future.

Back to the future... Instead of an ’80s sports car, you're traveling in a virtual yacht. While the fully fledged metaverse hasn’t arrived, here's how consumers are most likely to engage with it — and how they already are:

• Gaming: The most common meta use case right now. Gaming leaders like Roblox and Fortnite creator Epic see their 2D and 3D digital worlds as constantly evolving meta hubs.
• Working: From Meta's "Horizon Workrooms" to Nvidia's "Omniverse Enterprise" and Microsoft's "Mesh," tech giants are trying to let you work at the office from home (#AvatarColleague).
• Socializing: Apps like AltspaceVR let you hang in VR locales, from comedy clubs to bars. A Marshmello concert in Fortnite attracted 10M people.
• Shopping: From e-Jordans for your avatar to $650K digital yachts and NFT art for your meta-mansion. Some developers have already built meta-malls where you could shop in VR stores.