Microsoft developing Metaverse apps for Xbox
Yesterday Microsoft announced a metaverse space for meetings and call inside of their Teams app. Coupled with that announcement was a plan to bring their new innovation to Xbox, a Microsoft gaming platform.
Speaking with Bloomberg TV, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said “You can absolutely expect us to do things in gaming,” says Nadella. “If you take Halo as a game, it is a metaverse. Minecraft is a metaverse, and so is Flight Sim. In some sense, they’re 2D today, and the question is can you now take that to a full 3D world, and we absolutely plan to do so.”
Many have waited with bated breath for Minecraft to be lived in through VR, especially after the company showed off a tech demo for their prototype Hololens headset. This demo was shown off six years ago, and not much else has come out about the project since.
Microsoft has a big advantage over other companies trying to enter the metaverse space, with a history in developing hardware and software, combined with their deep fanbase on Xbox. The projects they can develop will have automatic recognizability others will not.
It’s hard for one to imagine what a Facebook verse will be, the social media titan has never developed software, let alone a good-looking UI, but with Xbox, it’s easy to allow your mind to run rampant with the possibilities. Minecraft adventures with your friends in giant proceeding-generated worlds, Dawning a spartan outfit from Halo and hanging out on space ring.
Not much else is known about this move into virtual spaces, Xbox has had 3D avatars since the late 2000s on Xbox360, wholly different from the ones shown off today.
It should be noted that Microsoft bought virtual reality social network AltspaceVR back in October of 2017, the brand has been kept separate from other Windows developed applications. “AltspaceVR will stay AltspaceVR. Microsoft is most interested in preserving the current community that uses AltspaceVR to connect and interact with new and old friends,” said a Microsoft spokesperson at the time speaking with The Verge.
Metaspaces have a deep connection with crypto, Facebook’s recent announcement made no mention of their Diem stable coin, but don’t be surprised when it splashed all over closer to release, enabling users to buy items in the digital world.
Microsoft has ties to the blockchain with a partnership with Consensys, but there was no mention at yesterday’s press conference. The company has always looked forward, so one could easily see a scenario where they reveal a token used exclusively in their Metaverse.