The Future of the Metaverse Could Be Shaped by Events in Vegas

Neal Stephenson, a science fiction writer, first introduced the concept of the metaverse in his 1992 novel Snow Crash. He described it as a city street that is always bright and extravagant, much like a Las Vegas free from the limitations of physics and finances.

Stephenson believed that a digital world could offer boundless possibilities, unlike the constraints often associated with physical spaces like Las Vegas.

The buzz around the metaverse peaked in late 2021, nearly thirty years after Stephenson’s novel, when Mark Zuckerberg announced his plans to create a virtual world and rebrand his company from Facebook to Meta. Zuckerberg envisioned Meta as more than just a platform for likes, comments, and shares, intending to build a community on top of the Oculus platform acquired for $2 billion in 2014.

The decision to change the name from Facebook to Meta came amid the COVID-19 pandemic, which highlighted the potential of a digital lifestyle with minimal physical interaction. Virtual meetings on Zoom replaced in-person gatherings, Slack served as a substitute for casual office conversations, and many workspaces remained empty.