The pitches for these visions of the future range from optimistic to outright fan fiction. Microsoft seems to think it could involve virtual meeting rooms to train new hires or chat with your remote coworkers. Facebook-sorry, Meta, still not getting it-thinks it will include fake houses you can invite all your friends to hang out in.
We have a vague sense of what things currently exist that we could kind of call the metaverse, and we know which companies are investing in the idea, but we still don't know what it is. It's at this point that most discussions of what the metaverse entails start to stall.
Many other assorted companies-including Nvidia, Unity, Roblox, and even Snap-are all working on building the infrastructure that might become the metaverse. Some of that work will be done by tech giants like Microsoft and Facebook-the latter of which recently rebranded to Meta to reflect this work, though we're still not quite used to the name. On the other hand, just as it would be accurate to say that Google builds parts of the internet-from physical data centers to security layers-it's similarly accurate to say that Fortnite creator Epic Games is building parts of the metaverse. Saying that Fortnite is “the metaverse” would be a bit like saying Google is “the internet.” Even if you could, theoretically, spend large chunks of time in Fortnite, socializing, buying things, learning, and playing games, that doesn't necessarily mean that it encompasses the entire scope of the metaverse. It's impossible to separate Facebook's vision of a future where everyone has a digital wardrobe to swipe through from the fact that Facebook really wants to make money selling virtual clothes. Facebook, in particular, is in an especially vulnerable place after Apple's move to limit ad tracking hit the company's bottom line. On the other hand, there's also a lot of marketing hype wrapped up in this idea of the metaverse. So while it was true, at the time, that “the internet” was coming, not every idea of what that would look like is true. The building blocks of a new form of communication were in the process of being built, but no one could really know what the reality would look like. To a certain extent, talking about what “the metaverse” means is a bit like having a discussion about what “the internet” means in the 1970s. Or maybe it's a deeply uncomfortable, worse version of Zoom? It's hard to say. Need a quick laugh? These Fortnite memes don’t require an account for them to be relatable.To hear tech CEOs like Mark Zuckerberg or Satya Nadella talk about it, the metaverse is the future of the internet. It is evident that even those who are not fans of the game are catching up to the kind of gaming – and gamers – Fortnite has brought to the world. You’d come across a range of things, from game mechanics to the very player base keeping the game running, to have a good laugh about. This growth has not gone unnoticed by players and non-players alike, which made Fortnite into a treasure trove of memes. Customization options ranging from looks to playstyle are available for players who like to make their mark on all battlegrounds.
With a consistent, if not growing, playerbase and constant updates to game content, Fortnite is aiming to be more than just about removing opponents off a map – but to become a culture of its own.
Since then, it has grown to be one of the most popular titles ever made. Fortnite is a free-to-play battle royale game released in 2017.