In the Metaverse, Will Big Gaming Eventually Become Big Tech?

Epic’s fight against Apple and Google is about more than just app stores

In “ready player one”, a science-fiction novel set in 2045, people can escape a ghastly world of global warming and economic mayhem by teleporting themselves into the oasis, a parallel universe where they can change identity, hang out and forget the miseries of everyday life. In the book, published in 2011, the oasis is the brainchild of a gaming tycoon who has everyone’s best interests at heart. Lurking in the background, though, is Innovative Online Industries, an evil internet conglomerate that intends to take it all over and reap the rewards for itself.

There are echoes of this “good v greedy” narrative in the way Tim Sweeney, founder of Epic Games, creator of “Fortnite”, an online-gaming phenomenon, talks about the metaverse. The idea is in vogue in Silicon Valley and is considered the next big thing in the internet.