[ExI] Epic Games Raised $1 Billion to Fund Its Vision for Building the Metaverse

[John Grigg]

What do you think?

"So what’s “the metaverse,” anyway? The term was coined in 1992 when Neal
Stephenson published his hit sci-fi novel *Snow Crash
<https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/172832/snow-crash-by-neal-stephenson/>,*
in which the protagonist moves between a virtual world and the real world
fighting a computer virus. In the context of Epic Games’ announcement, the
metaverse will be not just *a* virtual world, but *the* virtual world—a
digitized version of life where anyone can exist as an avatar or digital
human and interact with others. It will be active even when people aren’t
logged into it, and would link all previously-existing virtual worlds, like
an internet for virtual reality
<https://singularityhub.com/tag/virtual-reality/>.

Epic Games’ CEO Tim Sweeney told *Venture Beat*
<https://venturebeat.com/2021/04/13/epic-games-raises-1-billlion-to-fund-long-term-metaverse-plans/>
that the metaverse will be a linear evolution, not a sudden massive
disruption. “It’s going to be a meeting place for individuals and creators
of all sizes, including brands,” he said. “If you are a car manufacturer,
your brand presence in the metaverse isn’t going to be a bunch of
advertising for your cars. It’s going to be a place where you can actually
drive the cars around and feel the experience of it…We have an opportunity
for much, much more interesting interactions.”

https://singularityhub.com/2021/04/14/epic-games-raised-1-billion-to-fund-its-vision-for-building-the-metaverse/
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