Epic vs Meta: The Metaverse

Meta’s hour and 17-minute presentation from last year “The Metaverse and How We’ll Build It Together” was terrible. They only focused on things that were far away and showed nothing people could actually use. Meta claimed they want to focus on the metaverse and to do this they want to build experiences and tools for people to make their own experiences (they have other things to make, hardware, etc. but that isn't relevant for this conversation). I watched the entire presentation when it came out last October, I felt uninspired and weird because it seemed more about Facebook staking their claim over “the metaverse” instead of offering people cool and new experiences.

Both Epic and Meta have explained they want to work on a metaverse and they both think there is money to be made in that work. Before getting too deep into this conversation about these two competing companies, I want to talk a little about the metaverse and what my thoughts are on it. I think it’s dumb. I think metaverse is mostly the new “pivot to video” for Meta. It is a new thing for Facebook to attempt in the name of advancing the internet and making more money. Meta’s metaverse will fail if they do not change everything. Metaverse is a progression of games and social media. Right now Meta is not progressing much, if they start to progress in some field someone will.

People will do more things with VR and AR outside of gaming, but people won't if there is no appeal. Nothing Meta showed in their presentation is cool and almost none of it is real. Meta might have impressed me if they managed to pull off any of the examples they show. For example, they show a mockup of a virtual candle store (Note: I cannot imagine a worse example to prove the usage of VR, how are you gonna smell the candles!?!?) that people could go in with VR and look at the shop design and buy things that would be shipped to their home. How hard could this possibly be, make some simple tools for sellers to make a store that fits their brand (Meta basically already has a form of this with Instagram shop pages)? This would show people a real example of a metaverse, and that is more than possible with the current technology we have.

There is no example of what people want in a metaverse outside of Fortnite and Roblox (these are the only successes in the space), which have specific audiences. Your grandma probably uses Facebook but she definitely isn't getting a victory royale. You have to try things and go with them if they work. When your concept is changing the way everyone uses the internet, your proof of concept isn't a presentation with examples, it’s a product that proves people have an interest in it and are willing to spend money. Fully build out one experience that seems like the best bet and go from there. Meta is trying 20 different things and doing none of them right. For reference, look at the experiences Meta makes and advertises. Try watching an NBA game or concert with Quest 2; it looks terrible. To make people want to use these experiences they have to be better than the current offering! In concept, a VR NBA game sounds fun, but in practice, it ends up being pixelated and disorienting. Fix it! Why does a Fortnite concert work but not a Quest 2 exclusive concert? The Fornite concerts are a different experience from anything else available and they work. The VR concerts are just a recording of the act performing, you’re surrounded by stupid-looking avatars and you're all watching a video that would translate just as well if I just watched it on my phone.

Last week, Epic did a presentation to release Unreal Engine 5 and show the public what is possible with it. This is the antithesis of Meta’s presentation. Meta had nothing to show except promises that someday they will have something cool. Epic has spent the past two years hyping up UE5 with the demo, “Lumen in the land of Nanite” and MetaHuman Creator, and late last year they released “The Matrix Awakens” demo. All three of these are extremely impressive and got gamers excited about the possibility of next-gen games. But UE5 still felt a little out of reach and difficult to understand what gamers and studios could actually do with it. With the new presentation, they showed all of their new tools and emphasized how accessible they are. They even included a starter game so people can change whatever they want, from map design to gameplay style. They released all of it the same day as the presentation, for free to everyone.

One of the examples Meta showed in their presentation is a virtual recreation of an apartment with real-time rendering of objects moving. The idea is you have your apartment and the objects in it mapped so you can invite people into the virtual version but you can move around objects and they would be able to see it live. They propose this combined with a realistic avatar with facial emotions would feel like real life. It’s kinda cool but again, not available for years. Epic showed a tool that lets anyone use their smartphone to scan real-world objects and use them anywhere, the app is in limited beta now with a full release planned by the end of the year. Meta can’t compete.

Meta promises tools for creators, Epic gives away a whole set. Meta promises a creator economy, Epic has already started with their Support-A-Creator program (also, Epic didn't buy Bandcamp for no reason). Meta promises fun experiences but barely delivers, Epic delivers with steady updates to Fortnite and tons of new games from other studios using UE5.

Some of this might not seem to be directly related to the metaverse, Epic doesn't even use the word “metaverse” in the entire presentation. UE5 reduces the barrier of entry for people to make whatever they want. Shared experiences are going to be the key characteristic of the metaverse. If anyone can make these experiences and anyone can access them… you got something brand new. It looks like Epic will be the ones to get us there.

Could Meta prove me wrong? Sure, they just have a lot of promises to fulfill, and none (except VR GTA: San Andreas) of the promises they’ve made excite me. Meta, take a break and make something cool, but watch out, Epic is already way ahead.