What is The Metaverse?
The Metaverse is a term first coined by author Neal Stephenson in his 1992 science fiction novel, Snow Crash, and describes a virtual reality world where people can interact with each other and computer-generated objects. It’s also been used to describe the emerging trend of people living their lives online through avatars in virtual worlds.
In Metaverse, users can interact with each other, communicate, play games, buy and sell things, as well as digitally own property and other cool stuff — in fact, those in the Metaverse can do most of the things we all do in our physical world!
What is a Metaverse Platform?
A Metaverse platform is a digital world that allows users to create, experience, and interact with one another in a virtual space. These platforms are designed to provide a more immersive and social experience than traditional video games or social media networks.
By using a metaverse platform, users can escape the limitations of the physical world and explore new possibilities. You can think of them as video games on steroids, where users can not only play and explore, but also create their own content and rules.
Through metaverse platforms, entrepreneurs provide services on some kind of transactional flow based on the bedrock of the technology, which is the blockchain. This can be done by creating content, designing and issuing avatars, trading in virtual real estate, etc, all using (non-fungible tokens) NFTs as the currency of trade.
We have created a new list of best metaverses so don’t miss the opportunity to check it out also!
6 Best Metaverse Platforms
We will now look at six Metaverse platforms in 2024 (though in the case of NVIDIA it hasn’t been a “project” for almost thirty years). Focused on different verticals, as well as various stages of development, they are an acceptable representation of “Metaverse platforms” in 2024.
At the end of the brief descriptions, we will put our verdict on the project, though this is in no way a vindication or sponsored feature.
1. Madeium
A Portland, Oregon-based startup, Madeium was founded by Jesse and Sean Rademacher in 2020 and is the world’s first design decentralized autonomous organization (DAO).
Madeium’s highest quality design and trusted partnerships (vetted for professional excellence) ensure its peer-to-peer design network supports the community — gain collective benefits, share resources and access the best Web3 technology.
Verdict:
Madeium is definitely the top metaverse platform to look out for in 2024, as its Web3 tools like NFTs, blockchains, and smart contracts are well crafted.
2. Novaquark
Founded in Paris in 2014 by Jean-Christophe Baillie, Novaquark is a Metaverse platform, dedicated to bringing people from across the globe together to breathe life into worlds of their own making, one voxel at a time.
Its first game, Dual Universe, showcases the power of voxels. An ambitious, continuous single-shard sandbox MMORPG taking place in a vast, untamed galaxy, Dual Universe focuses on emergent gameplay with a player-driven in-game economy, politics, trade, and warfare.
Novaquark has raised approximately $21.1 million in funding since it was founded and is helping fuel the growth of its expertise in voxel technology.
Verdict:
Novoquark’s shared universe, editable features and the player-driven world are going to make their mark as one of the best Metaverse platforms in 2024.
3. NVIDIA
One of the frontrunners forming the Metaverse, NVIDIA was founded in 1993 by Chris Malachowsky, Curtis Priem, and Jensen Huang. NVIDIA is the inventor of the GPU and was responsible for the growth of the PC gaming market that — with its GeForce 256 (the world’s first GPU) — redefining modern computer graphics, and revolutionizing parallel computing.
As of 2024, NVIDIA is increasingly known as “the AI computing company and is led by original co-founder Jensen Huang, NVIDIA’s CEO. After going public in 1999, NVIDIA has raised a total of $4 billion in funding and is definitely one company whose influence on the Metaverse will be seen for years to come.
Verdict:
As a legacy company, there’s obviously not much to say about it, other than — with the likes of other big players like Meta, Decentraland etc — NVIDIA is going to forge its own path in the Metaverse space, one that leads by example and technological innovation.
4. MootUp
MootUp, marketed as “the first Metaverse Virtual Events Platform”, is a Phoenix, Arizona-based startup founded by twenty-year virtual reality veteran Danny Stefanic in 2019.
MootUp’s technology allows for collaboration online, making engagement exciting. Novel features of this metaverse platform include being able to jump into a meeting instantly or invite a team member into your personal space. Conference calls with audio, video and text chat are another cool feature of the MootUp metaverse platform, while you can pin documents, share images, video and 3D, decorate your team space together, and customize your own avatar to your own personal taste and style.
Verdict:
One of the top metaverses to watch out for, especially as in 2024 avatars are all the rage.
5. JOURNEE
Based in Berlin, Germany, JOURNEE — The Metaverse Company, was founded in 2021 by Thomas Johann Lorenz and Christian Mio Loclair. Its custom interactive website stream technology of photorealistic 3D environments for people, allows people to get together, inspire each other and exchange ideas.
Journee’s technology offers an unparalleled experience consisting of the highest quality visual live-renderings, interactive and web features, and the ability that allows visitors to enter its metaverse experiences simply through any browser and on any device.
Verdict:
JOURNEE is one of the best metaverse platforms in 2024 to watch, as it provides the connection between brands and their audiences in the Metaverse, something that is set to grow in popularity and demand this decade.
6. rooom
rooom spelt with an extra vowel lets you know this startup, founded in Jena, Germany in 2019 by Hans Elstner, wants to do things differently.
This global startup’s company’s experience Cloud, an all-in-one metaverse website for creating, managing and promoting engaging 2D, 3D, AR and VR experiences, works across all desktop and mobile devices. It has been designed to cover the marketing and visualization needs of different industries through its comprehensive product portfolio. These include event Cloud (optimized for virtual events, exhibitions, conferences, meetings), space Cloud (real estate, property, museums), product Cloud (3D products, product showrooms) and immerse Cloud (tours, guides, 3D books). rooom’s event Cloud is routinely hosting up to 200,000 users for hybrid events like IFA, Berlin and for global customers such as Porsche, Deutsche Telekom, DHL and E.ON. rooom has won over 20 awards, including the Global Eventex Award (twice), the Innovation & Excellence Award and the German Innovation Award.
Financially, rooom has raised a total of $7 million in funding.
Verdict:
As reportedly the first all-in-one metaverse platform for content in 2D, 3D, AR and VR, the last three being prerequisites for the Metaverse, rooom has potential in the new reality only just starting to get warmed up.
Choosing the Right Metaverse Platform
There are many types of metaverse platforms available for different purposes. Each type of platform has its own strengths and weaknesses, so it’s important to choose the right one for your needs.
Gaming Metaverse Platforms
Gaming platforms are typically the most popular type of metaverse. They offer a wide variety of features and options, making them ideal for gamers who want to explore different Metaverses. However, they can also be expensive, so it’s important to compare prices before selecting the right gaming platform for you.
General-Purpose Metaverse Platforms
General-purpose platforms are less expensive and offer fewer features than gaming platforms. However, they still provide a good base for exploring different Metaverse virtual worlds. If you’re not interested in gaming, a general-purpose platform may be a better option for you.
Business & Education Metaverse Platforms
Business and education platforms are designed specifically for those purposes. They offer a variety of features that can help businesses and educators to achieve their goals through Metaverse. However, they can also be more expensive than other options.
Why are Metaverse Platforms Emerging so Fast?
The obvious answer to why Metaverse platforms are emerging so fast in recent years comes down to the world in which they sit is developing more quickly than many experts in the space could ever have imagined. Meta’s (Facebook) entry into the Metaverse in late 2021 is a case in point, as when one of the largest companies on earth shifts its focus in the direction of a virtual, decentralized universe, the sheep will follow suit.
Novelty is yet another factor — although crypto and the blockchain have been around for more than a decade, they’re still a black box to most of the global population. NFTs, too — newer on the scene, have that mystery about them. People are interested in knowing what they are; and the experts, more than willing to teach these new recruits how they will change economic practices in the future.
Eyeing the commercial value, some of these experts, their acolytes and those smart enough to see between the lines, have started their own metaverse websites. The trend is set to continue.
What are the benefits of Metaverse Platforms to Businesses?
The opportunities that are afforded by some of the top Metaverse platforms to businesses are huge and encompass countless industries.
Metaverse platforms can aid technological innovation in the entertainment industry. Verticals like augmented reality (AR) will improve workflow in business, and there will be improvements in customer service, as well as business interactions (meetings).
Additionally, with the enhancements that are going to come for education and training (and this is a big one that global companies are already exploiting), Metaverse platforms are set to revolutionize advertising, marketing and branding.
What is the future for Metaverse Platforms?
The future of Metaverse platforms looks healthy, notwithstanding the NFT winter the summer of 2024 seems to indicate; a stark contrast to the bullishness the NFTs market showed in 2021.
But, with any new technology, hope springs eternal. As companies with the caliber of Meta, The Sandbox, NVIDIA etc lead the charge, smaller metaverse platforms — both ones already developed and those yet to be born — will find their product/market fit and inevitable destinies.
Conclusion
It’s still early in the life of the Metaverse. The six Metaverse platforms we took a look at are just a cross-section of those exploiting the new technology in different ways.
Whether it’s as a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO), a VR company, one into cryptocurrencies/NFTs, or a virtual events platform — as is the case with MootUp — it’s an exciting time to be involved in the sector.
Join the Metaverse Insider as we ride this extraordinary train with you, discovering — and writing about — fabulous metaverse platforms as they happen.
