A few months ago, exactly in May, we assisted to the Gucci takeover of Roblox for the opening of Gucci Garden, a virtual space within the metaverse that allowed players to explore a series of themed rooms. During the two weeks event, limited-edition virtual bags were sold for $ 4,115 (350,000 of Robux, the in-game currency), 21% more than the retail value of $ 3,400.
The previous year, Astronomical event starring rapper Travis Scott was staged on Fortnite with the peak concert of the event, held on April 24, 2020, collecting around 12 million people.
Today, the announcement of the planning of the rebranding of Facebook, reflects, according to The Verge, “its focus on building the metaverse.”
Within the next week, the rebrand will be announced, possibly during or before Facebook Connect on the 28th. Following in the footsteps of Google’s 2015 rebrand, Facebook’s new name could signal a shift to an umbrella company brand including all the company’s products, services, and departments, including Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Oculus.
A definitive attempt to signal that the company is no longer just the Facebook social media platform. In fact, the line drawn by Zuckerberg towards his metaverse proceeds more than swiftly. Indeed, it accelerates. And it does so with a major investment in Europe.
In fact, the late news of the rebrand follows the announcement of the new plan of Facebook to hire 10,000 people across Europe to work on its take on the metaverse. On October 17th, Facebook state “The metaverse has the potential to help unlock access to new creative, social and economic opportunities. And Europeans will be shaping it right from the start. “
It follows: “This investment is a vote of confidence in the strength of the European tech industry and the potential of European tech talent”.
And here are the guidelines that will guide the change: “no one company will own and operate the metaverse. Like the internet, its key feature will be its openness and interoperability. Bringing this to life will take collaboration and cooperation across companies, developers, creators, and policymakers. For Facebook, it will also require continued investment in product and tech talent, as well as growth across the business. “
Not only is Facebook moving in this sense: Epic Games has raised $ 1 billion to build their metaverse and also Nvidia Corp, Microsoft Corp, and Tiktok, have started millionaire investments and strategic acquisitions to be able to lead this innovative type of market.