Facebook is in the process of creating “Metawares”

Facebook on Monday announced the creation of a team dedicated to “metawares”, which is said to be a “meta-universe” for real and virtual merging. This sci-fi view already exists in video games.

Metawares covers the future of the social network, says its founder Mark Zuckerberg. “My hope in about five years […] People see us primarily as a metawares company, ”he said Specialized site maintenance On the edge Last week.

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The California giant’s new ambition depends on its virtual reality (VR) and magnified reality division, Facebook Reality Labs (FRL), which is responsible for Oculus high-speed headsets, mainly for entertainment purposes. Those recruited from the Instagram app are from Facebook Gaming and Oculus.

“Heir to the Mobile Internet”

“To fulfill our vision of metawares, we need to create connective tissues in between [les différents, ndlr] Digital spaces – to overcome physical limitations and move easily between the rooms of his house, ”the employer pointed out on his Facebook profile on Monday. “The core quality of metawares is presence – the feeling of being truly with people – and FRL has been developing products that have been present in different digital spaces for years,” he continued.

Metawares refers to a cyberspace parallel to physical reality, where people can communicate in the form of community avatars. This idea was developed by author Neil Stephenson in a science fiction novel.

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Some communities associated with video games have developed themes of meta universes such as Roblox or Fortnight. For example, last April, more than 12 million players attended five virtual concerts by American rapper Travis Scott, who appeared as an incarnation on Fortnight.

Gradually, screens, holograms, VR headsets, and magnified reality glasses will allow the fluid “movements” of the virtual universe to take place in physical hotspots, such as teleportations, says Mark Zuckerberg. “I always thought this was the Holy Grail of social interaction,” he explains in the interview On the edge. Metawares, “This is the heir of the mobile Internet”, he repeats.