Sep 30, 2021 06:00:00

What is Fortnite developer Epic Games working on building a metaverse?

It is reported that technology companies such as Facebook and NVIDIA are working on research and development to build a virtual space 'Metaverse' where you can watch movies and enjoy shopping online. Meanwhile, Epic Games, the developer of the popular battle royale game '

Fort Knight, ' is also actively working on the construction of the Metaverse.

Fortnite maker believes Facebook and Google broke the Internet. This is Epic's plan to fix it. --The Washington Post
https://www.washingtonpost.com/video-games/2021/09/28/epic-fortnite-metaverse-facebook/

In recent years, several technology companies have begun full-scale development of the Metaverse. For example, NVIDIA has developed a physically accurate virtual space platform ' NVIDIA Omniverse ' and is testing it for BMW and WPP , the world's largest advertising agency. In addition, Facebook has organized a dedicated team to develop the Metaverse, and announced on September 27, 2021 that it will invest 50 million dollars (about 5.5 billion yen) in two years to develop the Metaverse. increase.

Facebook announces that it will invest about 5.5 billion yen in the development of virtual space 'Metaverse' --GIGAZINE

As mentioned above, several technology companies have begun to work on the development of the Metaverse, but according to Tim Sweeney, CEO of Epic Games, Epic Games has already been working on the development of the Metaverse for several years. 'The current Facebook-led Internet is now showing information to enterprise-selected targets rather than users exploring the Internet to find information,' said Sweeney. He blames the current situation surrounding him and claims that Metaverse can help solve the current situation.

The Metaverse envisioned by CEO Sweeney is 'a vast, digitized communal space where users can express themselves and interact freely with each other.' It's online, where users can play games such as Fortnite with their friends, watch a movie on Netflix the next moment, and then take their friends to test drive a newly designed car the next moment. Shows the playground. 'Metaverse will not be a platform full of ads like Facebook,' said Sweeney. 'Car makers who want to make a presence in Metaverse don't need to run ads. Car makers appeal. You'll be able to recreate the car you want on the Metaverse and users will be able to drive it, and automakers are working with many content creators to make cars test driveable here and there, which is gaining attention. We confirm that, 'he said, highlighting that Metaverse will be a platform with fewer ads than the current SNS.

'People have moved from traditional media to social media, and now from social media,' said Shima

Sistani, co-founder of the video chat social network Houseparty, which was acquired by Epic Games in 2019. 'We're moving to the game.' 'The interactive nature of the game provides more ways to interact with other users than a timeline filled with simple ads,' he said. It claims that such games may replace SNS as a metaverse. In fact, live music has already been held in 'Fortnite', clothes of existing fashion brands can be worn , new Ferrari cars can be driven, and 'Fortnite' is Sweeney. It is beginning to play the role of the metaverse that the CEO is aiming for.

Sweeney also points out that for the Metaverse to be successful, many users need to be able to create content. Epic Games has already provided the game engine ' Unreal Engine ' to creators free of charge , and in addition to game development, it is used for vehicle modeling of automobile manufacturers, for shooting TV dramas, and for many other purposes. Unreal Engine is now being used.

As mentioned above, Epic Games is working to get many content creators involved in building the Metaverse, but the Washington Post is in a market where Epic Games' own game store, the Epic Games Store, is still closed. Pointed out that there is. Meanwhile, Epic Games has worked to enable cross-play of 'Fortnite' between different platforms such as Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft, so games such as 'Rocket League ' and ' Call of Duty ' will also be cross-play. We rate Epic Games as being able to support.

Sweeney points out that the lack of industry-wide standards can be a barrier to building the Metaverse. 'Metaverse requires a lot of things, such as file formats for managing 3D data, network protocols for real-time communication, etc. Multiplayer games are like some standard network protocol,' said Sweeney. The companies that develop the Metaverse should eventually communicate side by side, 'he said, eager to develop industry standards.