The Metagame #019: The Metaverse

Today’s topic feels especially fitting after OpenAI released its long-awaited text-to-video model, Sora, on Monday. (Due to its high demand and traffic, you might have some issues accessing their site.)

With the ability to generate extremely realistic videos with only a couple of words, the line between fantasy and reality has just gotten blurrier.

Here’s what’s in store for today:

• My opinion on The Metaverse

• What led up to it

• What’s next?

Read time: 4 minutes

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve probably heard of this mysterious thing called The Metaverse.

It’s the kind of term that sounds like it belongs in a sci-fi movie, but here’s the thing: we’re already in it.

But what exactly is the Metaverse?

If you ask Apple, they might say it’s the augmented reality you enter when you put on their $3,500 Apple Vision Pro headset.

If you ask a technology pessimist, they might say it’s a dystopian digital future like the one in Ready Player One.

But if you ask me? I think the Metaverse is something more complex. Something that’s already happening right now.

Let me explain.

The Metaverse Isn’t a Place, It’s a Time Period

Here’s a fun thought experiment:

If you hopped into a time machine and asked someone in the 15th century what it was like living in the Renaissance, you’d probably get a blank stare. People who lived during the Renaissance didn’t know they were in the Renaissance. They didn’t have a trendy name for the era.

They were just… living.

They were painting ceilings, building trade routes, creating music, and inventing new technologies.

It wasn’t until centuries later that historians looked back and decided to call this transformative era the “Renaissance.”

That’s what I think is happening right now with the Metaverse.

The Metaverse isn’t just a virtual oasis or a VR headset.

It’s an era in human history.

An era of explosive growth of digital technology and its significance in our everyday lives.

A Tipping Point

Think of the Metaverse as a cultural tipping point (shoutout to Malcolm Gladwell.)

It’s the moment when our digital lives are more important than our physical lives.

And we’re already seeing examples of this every day:

• People spend more time scrolling Instagram feeds than enjoying their morning coffee.

• We build relationships through DMs, dating apps, Zoom calls, and virtual events (like online concerts in Fortnite).

• Many careers are becoming purely online—influencers, streamers, coders, digital product creators, gamers, writers. The list gets bigger every day.

When was the last time you went for a run without making sure your Strava, Whoop, or Garmin tracked your route? (Guilty.)

Or listened to music without sharing the song with friends on your Instagram story? (Guilty again.)

Or went to a restaurant without snapping a picture of your food before eating? (Guilty, once again.)

These small behaviors might seem harmless, but they’re evidence of a larger trend—our digital identities, achievements, and connections are taking center stage.

The Metaverse isn’t some future fantasy—it’s the now.

The Building Blocks of the Metaverse Era

So, what sparked this massive shift?

The Metaverse isn’t something that appeared overnight, even though it feels like technology is rapidly growing at an ever-increasing pace.

Just like the Renaissance didn’t start with Michelangelo waking up one morning and deciding to paint the Sistine Chapel, the Metaverse has been a slow evolution, building over decades.

There were several milestones that led to where we are today:

1. The Computer: The first spark. Computers revolutionized the way we think, work, and communicate.

2. The Internet: Suddenly, the entire world was connected. Information was accessible to anyone (almost) instantaneously.

3. Social Media: Platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok turned the digital world into an extension of our real lives.

4. Artificial Intelligence: AI tools are now shaping the way we interact online, making digital spaces smarter, more personalized, and more immersive.

5. Virtual and Augmented Reality: Devices like Oculus, Meta Quest, and Apple Vision Pro are creating fully immersive environments, further blurring the lines between physical and digital reality.

Each of these milestones has been a stepping stone towards a new way of living—a world where our digital presence is fully entwined with our physical reality.

What’s Next?

If you’re waiting for the day when someone has a “Eureka!” moment and declares, “The Metaverse is here!” don’t bother.

Just like the Renaissance, this era doesn’t need a grand entrance. It’s already happening, whether we accept it or not.

The Metaverse is more than a buzzword. It’s a time period—an era defined by humanity’s adoption and dependence on technology in our everyday lives.

So, are we in the Metaverse?

My answer is yes—and we’ve been in it for a while now. We just didn’t have a name for it yet.

Quote of the week

Thanks for reading!

If you have any questions, hit me up on LinkedIn or on 𝕏 at @sam_starkman, or feel free to reply to this email!

— Sam