In a recent interview with Bloomberg, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has revealed some future possibilities for Microsoft’s gaming division to dabble into the Metaverse space. In the interview, he revealed the possibilities of games like Halo and Flight Simulator being perfect fits for Metaverses of their own.
When looking at multiplayer-centric games like Halo and Minecraft, they can loosely be described as Metaverses of their own, as players are able to spend their time playing, interacting with strangers and friends, socializing, customizing their avatars etc. Nadella spoke about adding a whole new dimension to the games, presumably through the use of VR.
“You absolutely can expect us to do things in gaming,” Nadella said. “You could even think about—if you take Halo as a game, it is a metaverse. Minecraft is a metaverse. And so is Flight Sim. So in some sense, they’re 2D today, and the question is can you now take that to a full 3D world? We absolutely plan to do so.”
Metaverse can be defined as the amalgamation of multiple spaces all co-existing within a shared universe on the internet, which would provide the illusion of an alternate reality. Live-service games like Fortnite and World of Warcraft are arguably better forms of Metaverse than something like Halo, but with Halo Infinite radically changing up the series’ multiplayer component by going free-to-play, a future Halo or Minecraft Metaverse doesn’t seem all too far-fetched.