The State of the Metaverse in 2022

Excitement for the metaverse is building, and although we don’t have a clear idea of what that might look like yet, the beginnings of the metaverse have been drawing comparisons to the early stages of the internet. Facebook recently renamed itself, Meta, showing its dedication to leading the tech world into the metaverse. Tech giants and up-and-coming startups alike are preparing for new virtual worlds. Interacting with an online audience in virtual settings is an essential new idea for any app development business plan.

Support for the Metaverse

Companies like Meta are investing in the metaverse with a confidence that seems to trivialize the advancements that will be necessary to bring virtual worlds to life. Part of the reason companies feel safe investing in virtual worlds is due to the trends we’ve seen in other areas:

  • 5G connectivity is a powerful tool. It will offer more reliable access to the metaverse once it is ready for exploration.
  • The internet of things (IoT) is constantly expanding. This means more physical devices can collect data than ever before.
  • AI and ML projects have seen a steep increase in data availability. This will allow for personalized experiences for users in the metaverse.

Although the metaverse can seem futuristic, these tools suggest that the metaverse can be adopted quickly and efficiently.

The Evolution of UI/UX

As we keep an eye on the development of the metaverse, it is important to begin forming an app development business plan for the future, even before we know exactly what it will look like. One genuine possibility that we will want to plan for is new, non-traditional devices. Devices that are designed to be interactive with the metaverse will be made to be more immersive (i.e., head-mounted devices). It is important to take this into account when designing the user experience for an app that is meant to be compatible with these experiences.

Non-Traditional Development Platforms

The metaverse is rooted in the concepts of accessibility and usability, and these ideals will likely result in new opportunities for app development through new low-code or no-code development platforms. In addition to making development more usable, this creates an opportunity for developers to offer third-party products that can be used as building blocks to create more novel apps and experiences.

Addressing Future Uncertainty

The metaverse is still a new and uncertain idea, and it is impossible to predict new opportunities as we begin to explore this digital universe. The important thing to remember as we attempt to formulate an app development business plan is that developers need to be able to react quickly and have a streamlined development process in place. The ability to quickly adapt to new opportunities and the ability to quickly scale the development process will ensure that we have the flexibility to get the most out of the metaverse.

If you are interested in discussing your app development business plan with Distillery, please don’t hesitate to get in touch!