Artificial Intelligence

Weekly recap: Metaverse progress and a Quest 2 challenger

Matthias Bastian

Epic Games

A look back at the computer future: Meta, Sony and Epic Games are pushing their Metaverse strategies, while Pico wants a bigger piece of the VR pie.

Sony joins Epic for Metaverse, Horizon Worlds expands.

Epic's Metahuman Creator can create almost photorealistic avatars | Image: Epic Games

In April 2021, Epic Games launched the digital human builder "Metahuman Creator" for photorealistic avatars. Although it has Meta in its name and the Metaverse potential in its code, it has nothing in common with the company Meta.

On the contrary: Epic CEO Tim Sweeney has been one of Facebook's aka Meta's biggest critics in the VR and AR context for years. He has repeatedly warned that Mark Zuckerberg's company should not be allowed to dominate the Metaverse on its own - and is therefore working on his own Metaverse strategy. In addition to a tool like the Metahuman Creator, Sony, which has bought into Epic Games for more than a billion, could also play an important role. Together, Sony and Epic Games are well positioned for the Metaverse future.

Maybe even better than Meta? Zuckerberg's company this week announced the expansion of its Horizon Worlds 3D VR experience to the web. Smartphones will also be included, and consoles could follow. Meanwhile, Meta is facing criticism from Apple, among others, for claiming more than 50 percent of the revenue generated by Metaverse creatives - although Meta has in the past harshly criticized Apple's 30 percent share of the App Store.

>> Sony invests one billion US dollars in Epic Games


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? of the week: Pico Neo 3 Pro launches with B2C in the West

Image: Pico

Bytedance (TikTok) wants to give Meta more competition in VR: The standalone VR headset Pico Neo 3 Pro is coming to the West and even supports hand tracking via add-on module. The Pico Glasses are a bit late as a Quest 2 competitor - but the successor could appear soon.

>> Pico Neo 3 Link: Pico relaunches VR headset Neo 3 Pro for home users