In an interview with the FT, Epic chief executive Tim Sweeney spoke about the metaverse and expressed his concerns that tech giants Apple and Google could “unfairly” extend their “stranglehold” on smartphone platforms to “dominate all physical commerce taking place in virtual and augmented reality.” An excerpt from the report: FT: How convinced are you that the metaverse — this immersive virtual world — really is the next digital platform beyond the smartphone?
Tim Sweeney: It’s happening already. If you look at Fortnite, Roblox, Minecraft and other real-time 3D social entertainment experiences, you can readily identify at least 600mn monthly active users in a medium that’s growing at a significant rate every year. So, there’s no question that this phenomenon is happening. The only question is: when does it reach billions?
FT: When I think of the metaverse, it’s much broader than gaming. It’s doing work in the metaverse, and