The Metaverse Rush ⁠— Why Projects Should Take Their Time

Whilst the Metaverse is certainly not short of attention and investment, it is important for projects to avoid rushing the building process to ensure long-term success. 

Over the past two years, the hype, investment, and development surrounding the metaverse have been nothing short of astonishing. 

Pioneered by the early work of Decentraland and The Sandbox, many Web3 startups have since dived headfirst into the metaverse in an attempt to create seamless and immersive experiences in order to blur the lines between the real world and the digital.

But Web3 startups aren’t the only ones getting involved.

Mainstream companies and brands have also caught the metaverse bug, and have entered in a big way. Highlighted by the entry of Meta (formerly Facebook), Nike, Microsoft, and other powerhouse names, there has been a buzz that hasn’t been there seen since the early days of the dot-com boom. The amount of investment flowing in is a testament to this.

In just the first five months of 2022, more than $120 billion has been invested in building out the metaverse, which is more than double the $57 billion invested in 2021, and this doesn’t appear to be slowing down anytime soon. 

Yet for all the hype and investment, there have been some criticisms over the traction, design, and overall usability of many metaverse projects, and one possible reason for this is the notion that projects are rushing into space instead of taking their time to perfect their products. 

The Current Landscape 

Whilst there has been some back and forth with regard to the quality and execution of metaverse projects, it’s important to first acknowledge the positives that have arisen from the virtual revolution thus far. 

As already mentioned, the metaverse has garnered an incredible amount of attention from Web3 projects and mainstream brands alike, and what makes this especially noteworthy is the fact that this new market has already attained more investment and mainstream interest than any other Web3 subsection. 

Most importantly, however, has been the increase in awareness, and how more and more people are starting to identify the new possibilities and enhancements that can be realized through integrating real-world services and experiences with the metaverse. 

But as is the case with most nascent value propositions, it hasn’t all been smooth sailing, and there have been some criticisms regarding the quality of metaverse prototypes, with some experts going as far as to criticize the current attempts to create immersive experiences that truly resonate with users.  

One possible explanation for the lackluster results is the strong sense of FOMO (fear of missing out) amongst Web3 and mainstream brands, who are consequently rushing into the multi-billion dollar industry - regardless of whether their products are firing on all cylinders. 

As a result, the metaverse is currently experiencing an influx of quantity as opposed to quality, with seemingly every studio vying to be the next big metaverse player, and when taking a closer look at what is being released, the criticisms appear to be justified.

Many of the current virtual worlds are basic in scope and simply consist of generic functionalities such as avatars walking around in order to purchase items. Moreover, because many projects are still in their MVP (minimum viable product) phase, sharing periodic updates with community members seem to be the norm, substantiating the fact that these virtual experiences are far from complete.  

In addition to this, the quality and thought behind metaverse designs (visual, technical and economic) have also failed to ensure user engagement and retention beyond an initial spike in interest, whilst the tech underpinning these experiences is also not up to the mark. 

Suffice it to say, it is evident that many projects are currently rushing into the metaverse as opposed to taking their time, and as such, many would do better to slow things down.

The Importance of Slowing Down

A prime (albeit, ironic) example of how slowing down can be in a metaverse project’s best interest can be seen in the early days of Web2, and how Facebook managed to come out on top over competitors that had launched prior to them.

Unlike Friendster and Myspace, Facebook didn’t prioritize rapid growth and instead started off small by acting as a Harvard-only network that gradually expanded to other colleges, high schools, and corporate users. This naturally allowed the platform to not only onboard users in a much more targeted manner, but in a way where important lessons could be learned with regard to design, tech, and user engagement.

Metaverse projects should take note.

When it comes to metaverse designs, building out high-quality immersive and gamified environments is a long and difficult endeavor, and requires a significant amount of research, planning, and testing. Therefore, any attempt to rush this process will simply increase the likelihood of poor user engagement - the antithesis of any gamified environment.

In terms of building out the right tech infrastructure, metaverse projects are best off taking their time to play around with various solutions, and analyzing the work of competitors in order to improve upon any shortcomings. In other words, building out tech infrastructure in a rapid manner may not only lead to technical drawbacks, but risks becoming obsolete due to the ever-changing tech landscape.

Other benefits that can be slowing down include projects having more time in which to get the economics right (in terms of operational costs, and metaverse tokenomics), and finding the right partners and investors to help open the right doors; amongst other things. 

In doing so, projects looking to enter into the metaverse can increase their chances of building immersive experiences on par with the likes of Second Life, which is a prime example of a virtual experience that excelled in nurturing a highly engaged and loyal community. 

But here’s the exciting thing. 

If projects take their time to think out their products, and how to best navigate the metaverse, the resources are there to surpass the likes of Second Life, which for all its positives, is now outdated on many fronts, and never experienced mass adoption.  

Either way, the metaverse is here to stay, and if the development of Web2 is anything to go by, the metaverse projects with the highest chance of success will be those that build the most functional and well-thought-out products; something that is not possible when rushing into a new market.