This Week in the Metaverse (W07.2023)

Weekly news roundup + two guest podcasts

Hey, Yon here! Welcome to Into The Metaverse. My mission is to help you understand what is the metaverse, how it will impact our lives, and what opportunities it unlocks. If you are a marketer, entrepreneur, investor or simply a curious professional, Into The Metaverse is for you. Subscribe to get access to every letter and podcast show that I publish.

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This week I attended Kidscreen, a premiere conference focused on children’s media, during which I spoke on a panel about Roblox and its potential for anyone who creates products and content for kids. On the panel I said: "Roblox’s power is that it blends games and social experiences with commerce, and brands need to be tapping into its growing audience of kids". I'd add that while the conversations at Kidscreen focused on kids, Roblox nonetheless continues to make major improvement in attracting and retaining older age groups. The age group topic is something that I’ wrote about in more length in a recent letter Roblox Earnings: Takeaways.

Aside from that, here’s what I’ve got for you this week:

1. Weekly news roundup

2. Latest podcasts with Yon

Let’s dig in!

(1) Weekly news roundup

Platforms & Technologies

• Roblox Is Bringing Generative AI to Its Gaming Universe

• Snap introduces ray tracing technology for its AR lenses to enhance realism

• Meta Revamps Its Metaverse App to Attract Younger Users

• Meta is working on a powerful smart glasses assistant

• Tencent scraps plans for VR hardware as metaverse bet falters

• Nvidia and Intel team up on chips for metaverse workstations

• An important next step on our AI journey (message from Google CEO)

Entertainment & IP

• Final Fantasy Maker Square Enix to Launch NFT Game on Polygon

• Paris Hilton launches Virtual Dating Show in ‘The Sandbox’

• Former Lucasfilm exec lines up series adaptation of Roblox game ‘Creatures Of Sonaria’

• The next chapter of Supercell

• Gamefam partners with Paramount and Nickelodeon on new Roblox content

Brands

• How Tommy Hilfiger, Shiseido and Roblox use the metaverse to connect with consumers.

• Pacsun launches branded ‘building tycoon’ on Roblox

• Vivienne Tam Struts Her Metaverse Stuff → Tam's latest NYFW show, both in IRL and virtual, features her "futuristic utopian vision of a new Hong Kong" that blends history, fashion and Web 3.0. 

Opinions

• Welcome to the oldest part of the metaverse → Ultima Online, which just turned 25, offers a lesson in the challenges of building virtual worlds

• How edge devices and infrastructure will shape the metaverse experience

Funding

• Amazon leads $20 million round in Superplastic, Amazon Studios developing show around Janky & Guggimon characters

Investing

• For Investors Betting on the Metaverse, Roblox Is the Only Game In Town

(2) Latest podcasts with Yon

This week I took a break from releasing an Into The Metaverse podcast episode but instead I have two podcasts that recently hosted me to speak about the metaverse, Roblox and what we’re building at Supersocial!

First, Success at Scale podcast hosted me to speak about the mission of Supersocial and why I’m so fired up about what we’re building on Roblox and beyond.

Into the Metaverse: A New Frontier in Business with Yonatan Raz-Fridman

Also listen on: Apple / Google / Amazon

Then, I was invited to speak about Roblox on the podcast by the Worldish newsletter. Both are worth listening to as they cover different aspects of my work with Supersocial.

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