How to Create Content for the Metaverse (and Why it Matters!)

Move over, reels and Tiktoks. There’s a new content medium, and it’s the stuff sci-fi dreams are made of. Welcome to the metaverse! 

It’s a term coined by Neal Stephens in his 1992 novel Snow Crash, and while it (thankfully!) doesn’t live up to his apocalyptic vision, the metaverse has come to describe a network of virtual, real-time worlds with functioning economies. Few seem to get it, even fewer have used it, but forward-thinking brands and content creators want in – and for good reason.

So, if you’re itching to get in on the ground floor, here’s what you need to know about creating metaverse content.

Why Create Content for the Metaverse?

Thanks to advancements in augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR), the metaverse is a truly immersive medium, which makes it rife with opportunity for connection. In fact, industry experts have estimated that the metaverse will be worth millions and that it will affect every corner of the economy.

While old media allowed audiences to read, listen, and view; and new media added the ability to share and comment; the metaverse is letting users move, do, and interact like never before. Think of live virtual concerts and walking tours, avatar-attended conferences, and sales of NFT art to hang on virtual gallery walls.

Creating metaverse content presents another – and arguably deeper – way for brands to connect with their audiences through real-time interaction. And, just as social media’s early adopters have seen the greatest success, those who get an early jump on the metaverse will be best-positioned to take advantage of this brave new (virtual) world.

Where Would Content Go in the Metaverse?

Immersive content can’t exist in a vacuum. To create content for the metaverse, you first need to understand where it goes. 

Many AR-enriched elements of the metaverse blend seamlessly with brand websites. For example, brands already use AR to place virtual furniture in a real room or virtual glasses on a real face to help shoppers envision potential purchases. That’s the metaverse at work, and there are a host of developer tools to choose from to create content for the metaverse.

More in-depth VR experiences exist on Metaverse platforms. Some of the most popular include:

• Decentraland
• Fortnite
• Gather 
• Meta’s Horizon Worlds
• NVIDIA Omniverse
• Roblox
• The Sandbox

Some of these platforms allow users to purchase virtual plots of land where they can create digital assets like homes, concert venues, and theme parks to host events. Others let users design and sell clothing for avatars, purchase virtual billboards, develop VR games, and buy and sell NFTs. Each has its own unique attributes that suit a variety of businesses as they begin creating metaverse content.

Content at Work in the Metaverse

While the metaverse is still in its infancy, innovative brands and content creators have already taken advantage of the technology. One of the earliest examples is the veritable craze Nintendo created in 2016 around Pokémon Go. The AR-fueled game has now been downloaded over 500 million times. 

More recently, Travis Scott, Ariana Grande, and Billie Eilish – or, rather, their avatars – played to crowds of tens of millions on Fortnite. (For comparison, the largest stadiums seat around 130,000.) Auction houses from Sotheby’s to Christie’s now regularly host NFT art auctions in the metaverse, raking in millions for a single piece. And everyone from Samsung to Snoop Dogg has purchased virtual real estate in Decentraland.

The full potential of this real estate, and of the metaverse as a whole, has yet to be realized, but that leaves early adopters with a major opportunity. As Mark Zuckerberg says, “At the end of the day, it is really the creators and developers who are going to build the metaverse and make this real.” So go design your avatar, buy a plot of land, or create some NFTs – and we’ll see you in the Metaverse.