Web 2.0 brought us social media. To an optimist, it was a democratizing force in a more connected world. For a pessimist, it had dystopian notes of shrinking privacy, more anxious children, and less human interaction. Depending on whom you ask, consumers of the Internet are excited or apprehensive about the next phase, called the metaverse, but meanwhile, business titans are making investments and grabbing market share in the makers of the metaverse, also known as Web3.

Much ink has been spilled (digitally, of course) on whether the metaverse–swapping real-life interactions for digital meeting places utilizing VR headsets–will actually take root. Apparently, the world isn't ready, but it's already here.

Microsoft's Metaverse Bet
Microsoft, the second most valuable company globally at $2.3TN, will purchase Call of Duty and Candy Crush maker (or rather, acquire) Activision Blizzard for a record $68.7BN. The gaming company is under employee pressure and public scrutiny for its toxic work environment and will face antitrust questioning whether it will make the games exclusively for Microsoft products (bye, bye PlayStation).

Virtual Everything
For some of us, we're still skeptical about Web3. Remember Google Glass? And given the pandemic's disruption to meeting in person, a metaverse test case if there ever was one, we failed to see skyrocketing numbers of new VR headsets users. If anything, the pandemic has shown us that when we're cut off from one another physically, we buy physical books, make bread, and knit scarves. Does anyone really want to step into the virtual hot tub with Mark Zuckerberg?

For more on this topic, check out our other Daily Stack articles on NFTs, Web3, eSports, & gaming startups.