The Metaverse Has Developers Split On Its Ability To Deliver

Recently, ahead of the 2023 Game Developers Conference, the GDF polled 2300 game industry professionals with its State of the Game Industry survey. When asked about the possibility of a company delivering on its promises of a Metaverse, developers were split, with 45% believing it was impossible. Support is dwindling, too, as last year only 33% percent of developers felt the promised Metaverse was impossible.

Those skeptical about a sustainable Metaverse cited “the unclear definition of the concept, the lack of substantial interactivity and the high cost of hardware (VR headsets in particular)” as major factors hindering the success of a Metaverse. And they may not be wrong. When “Horizon Worlds” launched in December 2021 and failed to attract players (per The Wall Street Journal), it demonstrated that building a Metaverse was no easy task.

The question of which company has the greatest chance of delivering a sustainable Metaverse was also a point of contention. The company with the highest votes was Epic Games/”Fortnite,” with 14%. This makes sense, as “Fortnite” is already a pseudo-Metaverse, minus the VR. “Fortnite” regularly hosts concerts, mini-games, and a clash of entertainment giants, all within one game.

The runners-up were Meta/”Horizon Worlds” and Microsoft/”Minecraft,” receiving 7% of votes each. “Roblox” received the third highest with 5%.