Weekly Kickoff, April 19, 2021

Earlier in the week I published a map of the metaverse market, showing where many of the key companies exist across the seven layers of…

Earlier in the week I published a map of the metaverse market, showing where many of the key companies exist across the seven layers of the metaverse I’ve written about previously:

I included a write-up on the thinking behind the map, as well as a more detailed comparison of Roblox, Epic Games and Unity.

Graph of the Week

Did you know that the number of machine learning parameters in deep learning transformers (such as GPT-3 and Google Brain) increased by over a million percent in 3 years? Look to this to power autonomous narrative, virtual beings and creative scaffolding for designers far sooner than you were expecting (my more-detailed article in the link).

Forecast of the Week

ARK Invest forecasts the global “Virtual World” market (Games + consumer AR/VR) to reach $400B by 2025:

Here’s the original report.

Decentralization is the Future

A decentralized metaverse is the key to unlocking the most creativity and consumer options. I wrote about this in a couple other posts during the week:

• In The Permissionless Metaverse I wrote about why permission is a tax on innovation, and unlocking value will come from blockchains, distributed computing, open source and other trends that favor decentralization.

• I shared and overview of the blockchains available for decentralized assets (i.e., NFTs) that apply to games in Blockchains for NFT-powered Games. There are quite a few options for energy-efficient proof-of-stake chains that you can start building on right now.

Observations and Reflections

• I wrote about the misunderstandings with respect to the energy costs of centralized versus decentralized industries.

• Celebrated a videogame that improved cognitive outcomes in patients with dementia.

• With the explosion of bundling options in video-on-demand and gaming, consumers don’t like the fragmentation.

• Bought an asteroid in Influenceth.

• Playstation 5 is the fastest-growing console in US history.

• AppLovin went public, and has a market cap >$20B today.

• The Games Fund announced $50M that it will invest in game studios.

• Discovered the Yamauchi №10 Family Office (former Nintendo CEO), which is the most amazing site for a family office ever created.

• Metahumans got to Early Access.

• BroadcastHER will make grants to support women in gaming.

• Coinbase went public in the largest direct-listing in history.

• A Black Lotus sold on OpenSea, which included the physical product with the NFT representing the “legally binding title” to it.

• PlayTogetherApart will continue after all the mental-health success it enjoyed through a year of lockdowns.

Party in the Metaverse

We had a party in the metaverse — in Rec Room, specifically! A number of folks from the Game Industry club (which started on Clubhouse, but has become far more) banded together to create an event space to help fill the void from the Game Developers Conference (GDC). Maybe our way of partying is the future, and isn’t just a temporary replacement.

My avatar in Rec Room, hanging out in the Broom Closet.

Did you miss out? Join the Game Industry Discord server to hang out with us and take part next time!