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In 2022, the Metaverse concept captivated the imagination of technologists, gamers, and corporations alike. While we didn't know exactly what a fully formed Metaverse would look like, we believed it would have the following characteristics:

• Immersive worlds: 3D environments and content
• Interoperability: The ability to travel across different virtual spaces with a consistent identity or set of assets. This means your avatar, digital possessions, history, purchases, achievements, etc., are recognized across multiple virtual worlds.
• Community: At its core, the Metaverse is a social space, enabling more engaging and interactive ways for people to connect, collaborate, and socialize, transcending physical and geographical limitations. The Metaverse will only become "the Metaverse" when it can support a large number of users interacting at the same time, and in the same place, without making substantial compromises in functionality, interactivity, persistence, rendering, etc.
• Virtual Economies: Digital assets, including cryptocurrencies, NFTs (non-fungible tokens), and other virtual goods, can be bought, sold, and traded within the Metaverse. These economies can mirror real-world economic systems, offering opportunities for creators and users to earn, spend, and invest.
• User-generated Content: Users have the tools to create, modify, and manage their own experiences, ranging from simple personal spaces to complex games and simulations. This democratization of content creation is a foundational aspect of the Metaverse.
• Persistence: Unlike traditional digital experiences that end when you log off, the Metaverse is envisioned as a collection of persistent worlds that continue to exist and evolve, even when you're not actively engaged with them. This persistence mirrors the real world, where actions have lasting consequences.

To summarize: A digital universe where you can jump from one 3D world to another, carrying your digital identity and belongings with you. Whether it's attending a virtual concert, exploring an educational simulation, shopping, or just hanging out with friends, the Metaverse envisioned a seamless blend of all these activities without losing a beat on quality or fun.

In 2023, the world's interest shifted towards AI, making the term Metaverse less popular because A) Facebook attempted to monopolize the Metaverse by changing the company name to Meta and focusing on digital social worlds; and B) Businesses that invested heavily in 2022 saw no fast return on their investments and instead started investing in AI.

However, forward-looking brands understood that marketing was moving into a new frontier and that immersive, interactive worlds where consumers could engage authentically with their brand was the future. Thus, Roblox emerged as the platform that most closely resembled the concept of the Metaverse as it embodies many of the qualities associated with the Metaverse concept:

• User-Generated Content: Roblox allows users to create and share their own games and experiences, fostering a vast ecosystem of diverse virtual worlds.
• Immersiveness: With its 3D environments, Roblox provides an immersive experience that allows users to engage deeply with content and with one another.
• Interactivity: The platform supports rich interaction among users, including communication, collaboration, and competition within its myriad worlds.
• Economy: Roblox features its own economy, where creators can earn real money through their creations, and users can buy, sell, and trade virtual items.

Fashion is an early adopter of new technology and a zeitgeist for cultural change, and as such has been a key driver of keeping the Metaverse dream alive on Roblox. Imagine a place where you can hop from one 3D world to another, wearing digital outfits created by your favorite brands, attending virtual fashion shows, or even designing your own fashion line. That's the promise of the Metaverse for the fashion industry. It's a digital universe where creativity knows no bounds, and the connection between brands and consumers takes on a whole new dimension. A couple of examples of fashion brands exploring Metaverse concepts on Roblox are:

• Gucci Garden: Gucci recreated its iconic garden space within Roblox, allowing users to explore and buy digital versions of Gucci's luxury items. This wasn't just about shopping; it was an immersive experience that blended art, fashion, and technology, attracting millions of visitors and showing how digital worlds can extend a brand's reach and impact.
• Balenciaga's Virtual City: Balenciaga went a step further, creating an entire virtual city on Roblox. Here, players could immerse themselves in a futuristic world inspired by the brand's designs, showcasing Balenciaga's vision in a way that a traditional runway show never could. This bold move demonstrated the potential for fashion brands to create their own universes within the Metaverse, engaging with a global audience in innovative and interactive ways.

Of course it's not all about fashion Roblox has 70.2 million active daily users who spend an average 2.5 hours on the platform.

Launched in November 2021, NikeLand is designed to reflect Nike’s real-world ethos of innovation, sports, and community but in a virtual setting that encourages creativity, movement, and social interaction.

Walmart opened its experience on Roblox in 2022 and, as of last month, was number 8 in the top 10 Roblox branded games with over 4M monthly visits.

Hilton is the first hotel to join Roblox with tangible transferable rewards. Stephanie Latham, VP of global partnerships at Roblox, said in a press release that she expects to see more brands tie their Metaverse activations to the physical world with opportunities like loyalty program tie-ins, Roblox-inspired fashion items, or real-world commerce.

“The consumer demand across physical and digital is clear, and brands are smart to tap into it on Roblox where over 70 million people connect and communicate daily, nearly half of them Gen Z,” Latham added in the press release. “Utilizing [Paris Hilton’s Roblox universe] as part of Hilton’s loyalty program is paving the way for other brands to experiment with enhancing consumer engagement and brand loyalty via innovative immersive experiences and communities.”

A key aspect of Roblox's success is its cross platform nature. The platform can be accessed through a variety of hardware, from VR headsets to smartphones, making it a prime example of the Metaverse's inclusive vision. This accessibility ensures that anyone, regardless of their technological means, can participate in the digital future Roblox and similar platforms are building. (Note Roblox is not (yet) accessible via Apple Vision Pro.)

Back to my original question - is Roblox the Metaverse? I would say it is an early example of a metaverse.

The advances in spatial computing and mixed reality headsets will offer new ways to interact with digital environments, blending the physical and virtual worlds more seamlessly than ever before, showing that the Metaverse's potential extends beyond the capabilities of any single piece of hardware or single platform. The journey towards the Metaverse, with Roblox leading the charge and new tech developments offering enhanced ways to interact, is shaping up to be an exciting adventure. It promises a future where our online and offline lives merge in ways we're just beginning to imagine. While we're not there yet, the progress made from 2022 to 2024 shows that this digital frontier is full of potential for brands who are look to engage with their customers in more meaningful ways.

As a creator of immersive, gamified, 3D worlds, we at Zebrar are here to help brands develop their Metaverse strategy. DM me to find out more.

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