Meta Connect 2023 has come and gone, leaving us to eagerly anticipate the next rectangular box of virtual escapism, the Meta Quest 3. We also have a host of celeb-fronted AI chatbots eager to strip-farm our every question and query for valuable advertising data. And even a pair of trendy spy glasses that absolutely won’t use AI to tag everything it sees throughout your day and report it back to the throne of Mark Zuckerberg.

I know this because I watched the keynote address just like you – however, unlike you, I watched the keynote address from inside the Metaverse. How do I know you weren’t there too? Well, that’s because I’d have seen you there, and I assure you, I didn’t. In fact, with the Metaverse being about as social as a prison shower room, I didn’t see much of anyone.

Correction: The Metaverse is mid 

I turned up bright and early to Meta’s virtual showcase, ready to put my hard-hitting reporting skills to the test and get the skinny on what Meta-folk like and loathe about the Zuck’s forthcoming announcements. I assumed that an event with thousands of registered Quest owners showing interest in attending would be an ideal place to hear people’s genuine thoughts on the upcoming Meta Quest 3 – but as usual, the Metaverse let me down.

All of my experiences in the Metaverse have been far less Ready Player One and a lot more One Player Ready – though ready to do what I’m still not entirely sure of. Meta’s virtual Connect 2023 event was a similar dud. I could lose 80% of my fingers in an industrial accident and still have enough left over to take an accurate headcount of everyone who bothered to show.

I recently wrote about how disenfranchised I’d become with VR on the Meta Quest 2 by saying that virtual reality is mid. In response, readers were quick to point out that this wasn’t entirely fair or true. And even though it was my opinion at the time, they were right. I’m a big fan of PCVR games and the Quest 2 as a headset, after all. What I was (maybe poorly) attempting to communicate was that Meta’s Metaverse is mid – and even that might be too generous. 

Meta’s Metaverse Metamorphosis 

“At Meta, we’re focused on building the future of human connection. And, what that means is we build products to help people feel closer.” Mark Zuckerberg’s keynote words literally echoed throughout the empty amphitheater my avatar awkwardly stood in. I’m glad that there will be a future, at least – because the present state of human connection in Meta’s Metaverse has sunk faster than the submarine tourism industry.

As Zuckerberg seemed to go on to explain, the former concept of the Metaverse (at least Meta’s own), as an entirely digital realm is dead. Rejoice! Those fully-immersive VR experiences will remain, but the concept of existing in a virtual world is no more. In its place is a new Metaverse, one that doesn’t want to take you out of this world, but to bring virtual elements into yours.

Be it hanging a virtual picture frame, displaying digital items around your home, or talking to your friend’s force ghost as you watch sportsball on your 160-inch free-floating television screen – the new Metaverse is a much more personal, mixed-reality experience. In this new experience, the Metaverse isn’t something you enter, it’s something that comes to you, how you choose it to, and wherever you might be at the time.

Outlook

How all this translates to the actual experience, I’m not sure. But the fact it’s not spoken about in the same overblown way as Meta’s original concept gives me a certain amount of hope that it can do the walking without the talking.

With new ways of interacting with the space that’s already around you, the revised concept is something ultimately more tangible. I can happily see myself getting lost in my own little Metaverse for hours at a time as I turn my coffee table into a board game or virtual RTS battleground.

Meta’s lofty ambitions for the Metaverse played a lot in its downfall. I think being able to slap a virtual JPEG of your dog on the wall is a far more attainable goal than replacing the entire world with a digital doppelganger. So, while the Metaverse isn’t booming, it might be blooming – and eventually blossoming into something more exciting to get behind thanks to a healthy dose of (mixed) reality.

With a heightened focus on passthrough and AR, it might be your best chance yet at encountering actual human interaction – even if it is only to register real people pointing and laughing at your Meta Quest 3-adorned triclopean appearance.

Welcome to Laptop Mag's Meta Connect 2023 live blog! Your one-stop shop for all the latest and breaking news surrounding Meta's keynote address from Menlo Park, California!

Meta are kicking off today's event with Mark Zuckerberg taking to the stage to unveil the Meta Quest 3 (again)! However, today we'll be seeing the Meta Quest 3 in full along with its innovations in Augmented Reality (AR) and how Meta plan to incorporate its ever expanding library of AI tech into the VR experience!

There's also the potential of Meta showcasing a follow-up to its Ray-Ban Stories — with improved cameras and battery life for even better content creation and live streaming potential while out and about.

Meta Connect 2023: What we expect to see!

Meta doesn't have a huge catalog of hardware to speculate on at the moment, so it's highly likely that we'll be seeing the Meta Quest 3 and Ray-Ban Stories smart glasses featured front and center.

Much of the two-day event's agenda will be split between highlighting Meta's advancements in VR, AR, and AI as well as how developers can make the most of these innovations going forward.

While not exactly riveting for everyone, these presentations will give us a closer idea of what to expect from the Meta Quest 3 or Ray-Ban smart glasses and the direction Meta are hoping to move in going forwards

So let's focus on hardware first as we highlight both the Meta Quest 3 and Ray-Ban Stories smart glasses next...

Meta Connect 2023: Meta Quest 3

Meta Quest 3: No doubt, the big takeaway from today's keynote will be the Meta Quest 3. The new VR headset is set to be Meta's most powerful to date and features new LCD pancake lenses, 40% less bulk, full color passthrough cameras, and potentially a Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 processor offering up to twice the graphical performance of the Quest 2!

If you want to learn more about the Meta Quest 3 check out some of our coverage of the upcoming headset below:

• Meta Quest 3 rumors: release date, pricing, specs, and more
• Meta Quest 3 vs. Quest 2: Should you wait?
• Meta Quest 3 design: Is it triggering anyone else or is it just me?
• Meta Quest 3 vs. PSVR 2: Which is the best VR headset?
• Ignore the Meta Quest 3, buy that Apple VR/AR headset anyway — I dare you

Meta Connect 2023: Ray-Ban Stories 2 smart glasses

Ray-Ban Stories 2: Augmented Reality (AR) has seen a swell of interest ever since Apple announced its Vision Pro headset earlier in the year, but companies are already scrabbling to make use of this tech in smaller, more face-friendly tech like glasses.

Meta were ahead of the curve with this, having partnered with luxury sunglasses brand Ray-Ban to produce the Ray-Ban Stories smart glasses all the way back in 2021.

However, whether it be that Meta were a little too ahead of the curve at the time or if a general mistrust of the companies spotty track record on privacy were to blame, these smart glasses never quite found their feet with a wider audience.

The glasses, outfitted with a microphone, touchpad, open-ear speakers, and dual cameras, allow you to capture first-person snaps or video up to 60 seconds in length, use voice commands, take calls, and listen to music.

The smart glasses were praised for their comfort but ultimately found too limited in what they offered for most. If we're to see a follow-up today we'd expect improved cameras, a longer battery life, and wider AR adoption.

Meta Connect 2023: What's on the cards?

Meta's multi-day event will kick off with a Zuckerberg-led keynote with "special guests" joining for the official 're-reveal' of the Meta Quest 3. However, there are 20 presentations stretched out over the next two days focusing on everything from AI advancements to deep dives helping developers decipher the depths of VR/AR integration.

Obviously, the event's opening keynote will be where the majority of eyes are focused. According to Meta's agenda CEO Mark Zuckerberg will take to the stage bright an early on the west coast at 10 a.m. PDT, 1 p.m. EDT, and 6 p.m. BST.

However, if you want to see more of what's on offer over the next two days of presentations, check out Meta's full agenda for times and details of what's to come.

• Meta Connect 2023: Full agenda and time table

Meta Quest 3 leaks see Apple win on specs, Meta win on price

Apple's plunge into the VR/AR market with the Vision Pro caused quite a stir, but that was nothing compared to the brow sweat and heart palpitations triggered by the reveal of its price.

The Apple Vision Pro will cost a staggering $3,500 at launch — but that's ok, because Apple have made it crystal clear that it'll be worth every penny due to its cutting edge processing and visual technology. Tim Cook assures us all that VR/AR is only made possible with the power of the R1 and M2 chipsets after all. So what other choice do we truly have?

Well. escaping the Apple reality distortion field for just a moment, a recent leak does point to an alternative indeed. According to X (neé Twitter) user @Lunayian, a source at GameStop has revealed the Meta Quest 3's pricing starting at just $499.

If you're not good at math, that's one fifth of the price of Apple's upcoming headset. Meaning you could buy a Quest 3 for yourself and four friends, and still be left with pocket change ahead of purchasing Apple's ultra-deluxe, snorkeling mask with AR capabilities. 

Sure, Apple may have the best specs, but when it comes to headsets people can actually afford? Meta looks set to win over VR/AR enthusiasts the world over through their wallets.

Meta Connect 2023: AR is the new VR

Meta's successes with the Quest 2 have proven there's an audience of budding VR enthusiasts out there to market to. However, Augmented Reality (AR) is rapidly becoming equally important to users as they seek to blend reality with the virtual.

From what we know so far, the Quest 3 is pushing things to the next level in order to cater to that demand. Not only will Meta's new headset feature full color passthrough, a large portion of the Meta Connect 2023 event's presentations are focusing on Mixed Reality — and how developers can better leverage the headsets new passthrough cameras.

Paired with the Quest 3's slimmer form factor, mixed reality could play a starring role in this generation of Quest headset, and for others that follow.

Meta Quest 3: What are pancake lenses?

Of the many improvements heading to the Meta Quest 3, one of the more noteworthy additions is the headset's new pancake lenses — which, beyond sounding delicious, will afford the Quest 3 an improved per-eye resolution of 2.2K.

Pancake lenses replace the Quest 2's Fresnel lenses, offering less distortion and a more compact form. This is partially what allows the Meta Quest 3 to be so much slimmer than its predecessor.

Pancake lenses also absorb more light than Fresnel optics, meaning there's less chance for glare occurring, though they do require considerably brighter displays to function as needed for VR and Mixed Reality experiences which could put a strain on the Quest 3's battery life.

These are also the same lenses found in the Quest Pro (not that anyone would know judging by how well that headset sold). However, while the Quest Pro was doomed by its high price-tag, the tech lives on in the Quest 3 reducing ghosting and glare dramatically while maintaining a sharp image from edge to edge.

Meta Connect 2023: How to watch the keynote live

We're still some way off from Meta Connect 2023, but if you're interested in watching along live later today then there's plenty of ways to do so.

Those of us mere mortals not invited to the Menlo Park, California event in person can at least attend in virtual spirit through the Meta Connect Event site. There will of course be livestreams popping up on YouTube and Twitch as people react to the reveal of the Meta Quest 3 and next-gen Ray-Ban smart glasses.

However, if you own a Quest headset you can also follow the event live directly from the Metaverse. Check your upcoming events menu for details on how to join the virtual festivities through Meta Horizon Worlds!

Meta Connect 2023 kicks off today from 10 a.m. PDT, 1 p.m. EDT, and 6 p.m. BST. Looking for your local time zone to see when things begin? Check below for our full guide on how to watch Meta Connect 2023 online!

• Meta Connect 2023 — how to watch Quest 3 reveal

Meta Connect 2023: Is the cat out of the bag for the Meta Quest 3?

A recent leak from a Redditor in possession of an official specifications sheet from retail training on the Meta Quest 3 may have left Zuckerberg with little to reveal when he takes to the stage later today.

The training sheet details everything from specifications to launch prices and completely pulls the rug out from under Meta's big reveal.

However, that's not anything new, as earlier in the year the Zuck himself decided to unexpectedly unveil the Meta Quest 3 hours before the Meta Quest Gaming Showcase — completely detracting from the day's following reveals.

It's this unpredictability and lack of secret keeping potential that makes me believe he might not be a part of the illuminati after all.

Let's take a look at what the spec sheet reveals:

• Snapdragon XR2 Gen2 processor
• 8GB RAM
• Full-color mixed reality passthrough
• Dual RBG cameras
• 4MP color, 18 Pixels Per Degree (PPD)
• 128GB storage (with additional available for those who want it)

In terms of pricing and availability, the same document reveals the following:

• Starting at $499.99 for 128GB
• Coming to all Quest 2 markets
• More information at Connect 2023 on Sept. 27th, 2023

Check out the full spec sheet along with our coverage linked below!

• Meta Quest 3 price, release date, and specs leaked right before Meta Connect

Meta Quest 3: All-new controllers, and better hand tracking

Keen observers may have noticed that the Meta Quest 3's controllers have ditched the iconic Oculus ring. The ring would previously house infrared LEDs to help the Quest headset accurately track the position of each hand in 3D space. However, thanks to improvements in the Quest 3's sensors and tracking tech, these rings are no longer required for the Quest 3's Touch Plus controllers.

The same improvements have also allowed hand tracking to become much more accurate. Quest 2 users can already make use of hand tracking and gesture inputs following the "Hands 2.2" update from last month, but combined with the Quest 3's new depth sensor the new Touch Plus controllers are free from the bulk and clashing of the Quest 2's ringed-controller design.

Better still, the new controllers will also feature TruTouch haptics, presenting realistic feedback across the grip, thumb and triggers of the controller similar to the Quest Pro's Touch Pro controller — which you can also use to control the Quest 3 if you'd prefer.

Meta Quest 2 Vs. Meta Quest 3

Taking the recent spec sheet leak and everything we've learnt so far into account, how does the Meta Quest 3 measure up against the current Quest 2? Let's go through a quick comparison to see how things may have improved since the affordable portal to the Metaverse launched back in 2020!

The Meta Quest 3's improvements to refresh rate, per-eye resolution, and the switch to Pancake lenses over Fresnel will no doubt result in a much smoother VR/AR experience for users than the Quest 2.

Factor in the power of an upgraded Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 processor with 8GB of RAM and we should find that the Quest 3 is leaps and bounds above what the Quest 2 is currently capable of, especially when it comes to Augmented Reality (AR) capabilities thanks to the Quest 3's full-color passthrough.

The $200 price increase over the Quest 2 seems steep at first glance, but once you factor in the improved controllers with their TruTouch Haptics the overall value of the upgrade seems reasonable — especially when considering that the similarly spec'd Quest Pro's Touch Pro controllers alone cost $299.99!

Meta Connect 2023: Can the Quest 3 match the Quest 2's success?

The Meta Quest 3 is looking to be an impressive headset for VR/AR enthusiasts and newcomers alike. But let's take a moment to reflect on the impact of Meta's impact in the VR space.

Since Meta acquired Oculus VR in 2014, the company has reportedly gone on to sell ~20 million Quest headsets. Over 18 million of which are the Meta Quest 2 alone! That's a phenomenal success for Zuck and co. with the brand effortlessly securing a huge portion of the VR market.

But with Apple closing in on the release of the Vision Pro, Samsung planning their own VR headset, rumors swirling of Valve releasing a new Index headset, and the PSVR2 already out in the wild, is the same kind of success even a possibility for the Quest 3?

While Meta have sold headsets like hotcakes, user retention appears to be suffering with owners allowing their headsets to gather dust. The result of which could be a large percentage of those Quest 2 owners being unwilling to return to the Meta well for the Quest 3. Does Meta's new headset have what it takes to retain its market share against the likes of Apple, Samsung, and Valve? Time will tell!

Check out some of our wider VR coverage for more!

• The State of VR: How Meta dropped the ball
• Virtual reality is mid — all my Meta Quest 2 does is gather dust
• Samsung’s Vision Pro and Meta Quest 3 alternative just leaked online

Ray-Ban Stories 2: The 'Being John Malkovich' bifocals?

Switching things up to the Ray-Ban Stories 2, a rumor appearing last last month indicates that Meta and Ray-Ban's latest smart-shades will allow for video streaming directly to Facebook and Instagram. Not only that, but the glasses can also relay viewers comments through the glasses' built-in headphones.

Personally I find nothing more horrifying than the thought of someone living vicariously through the view from my own eyeballs. But that's just me. If the rumors are to be believed this could make the Ray-Ban Stories 2 the ideal companion for IRL streamers or even more so cinema pirates and concert bootleggers the world over.

What a weird world we live in.

Meta Quest 3: Avatars with expressions?

Wild speculation, but a worthwhile mention, immediately following today's keynote from Mark Zuckerberg is a post-keynote featuring Meta's Michael Abrash and Andrew "Boz" Bosworth. Here's where the two will go over Meta's progress in areas such as contextual AI, neural interfaces, and ultra-realistic codec avatars.

Codec avatars are representations of a user shown in real-time through an avatar form — think along the lines of the Vision Pro's digital persona. This is something Meta have been working on since at least 2021 and have made some impressive progress with.

Pair this mention of codec avatars with the description of Zuckerberg's upcoming keynote promising we can "hear how AI will help people connect and express themselves in new ways" and you can begin to draw the assumption that the Meta Quest 3 could make use of AI-assisted face tracking to render accurate emotions on its Metaverse avatars — a sizable improvement over a similar feature found in the Quest Pro.

Of course, once again, that's wild speculation on behalf of a man sat behind a keyboard rapidly running out of things to say about Meta's upcoming Connect 2023 event. This is how rumors start, so let's just keep this between you and me.

Meta Connect 2023: Games! There has to be games, right?

Games! Having ruined the Meta Quest Gaming Showcase with his impromptu premature release of the Meta Quest 3, I'd hope the Zuck at least has a few games in tow as he skitters onto screens far and wide throughout the Metaverse.

The overshadowed fiasco that was the Meta Gaming Showcase did have a few interesting titles to keep an eye out for including Assassin's Creed Nexus, Stranger Things VR, Arizona Sunshine 2, Ghostbusters: Ride of the Ghost Lord, Bulletstorm VR, and one particular title Meta seemed to give a little extra room to shine — Asgard's Wrath 2.

While any of those could return for a second viewing, my money being on Meta's favorite child Asgard's Wrath 2 for instance, there are a host of new titles making their way to the Quest 2 and presumably the Quest 3 in the near future also including Thrill of the Fight 2 and the sequel to Into the Radius.

Of course, Zuckerberg could also pull something completely out of left-field here and remind the world at large that Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas VR is still a thing and still heading our way. But I won't hold my breath on that one, and nor should you.

Meta Connect 2023: We'll be in the Metaverse today!

If you're a Quest headset owner you can follow along with today's event live from inside the Metaverse via Meta Horizon World's upcoming Meta Connect 2023 Event!

Not only will you get the watch the Keynote live, you'll get to do it in the company of other Quest owners as you receive exclusive Meta Connect quests and virtual rewards!

Better still, I might be there too! Sneakily infiltrating the Metaverse community to gain all your thoughts and insights on what you love most about the Meta Quest 3 and the things you aren't so impressed by! Catch me under the tag @r43l (that's an L) or look for the floating LaptopMag.com nametag to voice your opinions.

If you're still having trouble locating me, just listen for the sound of retching as I slowly regain my VR-legs amidst the bright outlandish colors of the Metaverse.

Dear God, what am I doing with my life. Dear Metaverse, please be kind.

Meta Connect 2023 has been...delayed?

This is odd! We've all been told that the event was set to begin at bang on 1PM ET, but there seems to have been a 30-minute delay. Either this was accounted for, or something's gone awry behind the scenes.

5 minutes to go...

Settle in! The show has started...

Meta stream cut-outs be damned - the event is off to a start!

First up, Meta Quest 3!

Mark is currently showing off the Mixed Reality capabilities of the device with games such as the adorable Lego BrickTales!

Xbox Cloud Gaming comes to Meta Quest 3!?

As far as we know, this is the first wireless VR headset to support Xbox Cloud Gaming! We're looking to trying this.

Meta Horizons are getting expanded

New experiences are coming to the free-to-play Meta Horizon, including a new FPS-esque multiplayer game!

Meta Quest 3 is launching on October 10 for $499!

Time for some AI news...

Meta has been tight lipped about this... We should get something interesting!

You can now create AI stickers within chat apps

Say you want to make entirely new stickers to use in the likes of Whatsapp. Meta has now implemented AI so all you need to do is provide a prompt to make it work! Not only that but you can also edit images on the fly with prompts too.

These are definitely more of a humorous implementation of AI, but I can see a lot of people having fun with it!

Meta is creating AI personalities (and giving developers the chance)

Meta is going in HARD on AI. It starts with a general chat bot to help with certain queries. This bot is not just limited to a singular DM chat, you can call it up in group chats too to answer questions.

But on top of that, Meta has created several different profiles — including a sous chef for cooking tips, and even SNOOP DOGG of all people as a dungeon master for a text based RPG. WHAT IS GOING ON?

Developers will be able to make their own AI avatars with AI Studio

So this has got equally interesting and (maybe) a little scary. AI Studio is going to be the suite of development tools Meta is providing for creators to build their own AI implementations.

Examples talked about include live chats, metaverse avatars, and having a spot of fun with it. If Snoop Dogg as a DM just wasn't weird enough for you, you can build one further over in the chaotic/evil persona at your leisure!

What are the implications of this? Sure, there are safeguards in place for bad actors, but we'll have to view these a little closer to see how (and if) they could be worked around.

Meet the Meta Ray-Ban Smart Glasses

OK, these are a lot more interesting than I anticipated. Meta AI is being implemented into these specs, so that beyond them just being specs that take photo, you'll be able to ask them a whole host of questions to get around your day-to-day life.

These include your standard array of voice assistant-esque requests, like how long you cook chicken breast for, and they extend further to image recognition and providing information.

On top of that as well, you are able to live stream video directly from the glasses! They will be available for $299 starting October 17.

And that's a wrap!

Mark's keynote is over. Stick around on the Meta Connect stream for more in depth information from a developer's perspective! But we have a whole host of articles comparing what has just been announced with the competition.

• Meta Quest 3 vs Quest 2: Should you upgrade?
• Meta Quest 3 vs Apple Vision Pro: Mismatch or close fight?
• Meta Smart Glasses vs Ray-Ban Stories: Are these specs worth the upgrade?

The Apple Vision Pro reignited mainstream interest in a waning VR/AR landscape when it was announced at this year’s WWDC – up until the reveal of its $3,499 price tag, that is.

However, the Vision Pro’s mighty MSRP is nothing short of an RVSP to the competition as they scramble to undercut Apple’s inflated pricing with more affordable mixed reality headsets of their own.

The latest of which could come via a collaboration between Meta and LG on the Metaverse parent company’s next premium hardware offering – the Meta Quest Pro 4.

An answer to the Vision Pro's biggest con?

According to Korean news site Maekyung, Meta and LG have joined forces to deliver a mixed reality experience similar to that of Apple’s Vision Pro. The new headset, rumored to be the Meta Quest Pro 4 – a confusingly named follow up to 2022’s smash-flop the Meta Quest Pro, is expected to arrive in 2025 and tout a premium, but altogether more palatable $2,000 price tag.

According to Maekyung, Meta’s next Quest Pro model will feature parts from LG Display, LG Innotek, and LG Energy Solution. The Quest Pro’s adoption of LG’s family of tech could see the headset feature industry leading Micro LED displays, iPhone-level camera modules and sensors, and an improvement to battery life and power efficiency.

Outlook

On paper, these hardware improvements go some way to countering the Vision Pro’s micro OLED optics and 12 camera/5 sensor tracking array. The potential battery improvements for the Quest Pro 4 would also see Meta’s device leapfrog Apple’s, with the Vision Pro requiring an external battery pack capable of just 2 hours of uptime.

In contrast, the Meta Quest 2’s internal battery is already capable of lasting 2-3 hours, with the upcoming Meta Quest 3 expected to deliver similar results.

However, anybody seeking to dethrone the Vision Pro as one of the most powerful mixed reality headsets on the market when it arrives next year will have a tough fight on its hands. Apple’s upcoming headset is backed by a dual-chip setup that incorporates a powerful M2 and R1 Apple silicon combo.

While Meta and LG’s partnership could provide some potent, premium components, it remains to be seen if Meta are able to stay on par when it comes to overall performance and power.

For news, rumors, and updates on all things VR and tech, follow Laptop Mag on Twitter, Facebook, and Flipboard for the latest word as it arrives.

During a recent companywide meeting, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg revealed that he isn't feeling the heat following Apple’s recent announcement of the Vision Pro headset. The meeting was reported on by The Verge’s Alex Heath, who was lucky enough to capture Zuckerberg’s thoughts on Apple’s headset as he spoke with Meta employees.

Zuckerberg took to Instagram just days before WWDC to unveil Meta’s own upcoming headset — and Meta’s great hope for the survival of the Metaverse — the Quest 3. Was this Zuckerberg’s way of asserting dominance in the face of Apple’s announcement? Who knows. But the headset was able to cash in on the AR/VR hype train that had been brewing around the Cupertino brand’s long-awaited announcement.

However, one thing it does tell us is that we can potentially put an end to all of those rumors that 'the Zuck' is part of the Illuminati secret society, as he decided to announce Meta’s upcoming headset hours before the scheduled Meta Quest Gaming Showcase, in turn stealing much of the spotlight away from the day’s following announcements — a stark display of his inability to keep things on the down low.

Works for thee, but not for me

While talking with employees, Zuckerberg was keen to point out how the two companies are doing things differently, and that Apple’s announcement won’t sway Meta’s heading.

“They [Apple] went with a higher resolution display, and between that and all the technology they put in there to power it, it costs seven times more and now requires so much energy that now you need a battery and a wire attached to it to use it.”

The Meta CEO continued, “I think that their announcement really showcases the difference in the values and the vision that our companies bring to this,” Zuckerberg highlighted, in reference to Apple’s Vision Pro reveal earlier this week.

While Zuckerberg did acknowledge Apple’s headset tech prowess he also pointed to the design trade-off that has dampened overall usability and massively inflated the Vision Pro’s cost. In contrast, Meta is happy to go in the other direction, with Zuckerberg stating: “We innovate to make sure that our products are as accessible and affordable to everyone as possible, and that is a core part of what we do.” 

The people's playground

A key part of Meta’s decision to stay the course with its plans for future Quest devices lies in its secret weapon — the Metaverse. Zuckerberg continued, “Our vision for the metaverse and presence is fundamentally social. It’s about people interacting in new ways and feeling closer in new ways. Our device is also about being active and doing things.”

While it might not have taken flight quite like Meta had hoped for, even the Wright brothers took a few nosedives in the run-up to soaring across the skies. And, to be fair to Meta, they’re not wrong.

The company’s Quest headsets are an inherently social experience, with a key focus on engaging with others — whether that be watching a 3D movie in a virtual cinema with others, or running amok with friends across a few rounds of Gorilla Tag. 

Them's fightin' words

“By contrast, every demo that they showed was a person sitting on a couch by themself. I mean, that could be the vision of the future of computing, but like, it’s not the one that I want. There’s a real philosophical difference in terms of how we’re approaching this.”

It looks like all that all of that Jiu-jitsu is paying off because Zuckerberg is coming out hands-a-swingin’ here. Or at least, as hands-a-swingin’ as he’s ever been before. What will no doubt sting the most from a comment like this is that Meta’s CEO has made a solid and hard-to-argue point. How social of an experience can Apple’s Vision Pro headset ever hope to be with a price tag of $3499? Even if you can afford it, can the rest of your friends or family?

The Vision Pro's high cost of entry is likely why the device seems so insular. So few people will actually be able to afford the damned thing, that even if there was an Appleverse to leap headset-first into, you’d be hard-pressed to stumble upon anything except a remote, virtual reality effigy burning by the now worship-from-home, rich and powerful invitees of Bohemian Grove.

Outlook

While not quite The Shot Heard Round the World or the spark that ignites the great war between Apple and Meta, Mark Zuckerberg's comments are still massively important. While not overly salacious or spicy, the Meta CEO's words are an indicator that he's feeling the wind in his sails once again for both the Quest 3 and the Metaverse.

Maybe that's because Apple have whipped the world into an AR/VR frenzy, before quickly pricing 99% of those aboard the hype train out of the experience. Leaving Meta's latest headset the Quest 3 to deliver that experience to a wider audience than ever before.

At this point, Zuckerberg has more to thank Apple for than fight them over.

When I was but a boy I wanted to grow up to be one of two things: a pirate or a Ghostbuster. Let’s just say I might’ve gained some experience with the former on my own personal voyages across the digital Seven Seas. However, the latter is something that’s eluded me to this day — with the closest I’ve come to fulfilling that dream being the time a light turned itself on in my family home when I was 10 and I sat curled up in the fetal position at the top of the stairs until an adult came home to save me from an incredibly spooky case of poor wiring.

So imagine the little spark of hope illuminating my otherwise dark and cynical soul with Meta having just announced that Ghostbusters: Rise of the Ghost Lord for Meta Quest 2 and Meta Quest Pro is heading our way. Finally, regular schlubs like you and I can live out our dreams of being paranormal-pest-exterminating schlubs with unlicensed nuclear accelerators strapped to our backs. 

Ghostbusters: Rise of the Ghost Lord overview

Strap on your Proton pack, whip out your PKE meter, and continue a ghost-busting legacy through an extensive campaign spanning the city of San Francisco. Track, blast, and trap spirits and specters as you and your friends take the helm of a new Ghostbuster’s HQ in the City of Love.

We’ve had Ghostbuster games before and some, like 2009’s fantastic Ghostbusters: The Video Game, have done a great job of letting us feel a part of the action — but now you can be the Ghostbuster you’ve always wanted to be in fully-immersive VR. Go solo or with up to three friends as you head up and down the hills of San Francisco, facing off against the Ghostbuster’s biggest threat to date — the Ghost Lord.

Unravel the mystery of Gustav Hookfaber — a once-promising scientist turned supernatural supervillain who has an axe to grind against our favorite Casper capturers. Get to grips with iconic Ghostbusters gear and upgrade your tools to face an ever-present threat as you unearth the Ghost Lord’s grand plan for the City by the Bay before it’s too late.

 Ghostbusters: Rise of the Ghost Lord trailer 

 Ghostbusters: Rise of the Ghost Lord release date 

It feels like forever since we got our first look at Ghostbusters: Rise of the Ghost Lord at last year’s Meta Quest Gaming Showcase. However, Sony Pictures VR and nDreams are finally looking set to deliver the definitive Ghostbusters experience to Meta Quest 2 and Meta Quest Pro VR headsets in the Fall of 2023.

Make sure to wishlist Ghostbusters: Rise of the Ghost Lord today, and be the first in line for the latest updates as they arrive.

I've watched people all around the world debate death — and what happens in the afterlife — inside a stunning Tibetan temple. I've walked around a jaw-dropping Alice in Wonderland exhibit, curated by a talented artist, inside the annual Burning Man festival. I've listened to amateur singers perform on stage while gliding inside a skating rink.

"In real life?" you ask. Nope. I experienced all the aforementioned events (yes, even Burning Man) while strapping on my Meta Quest 2 headset and diving into Microsoft's spectacular AltSpaceVR app. 

For the uninitiated, AltSpaceVR was the closest thing we had to a metaverse utopia. Stepping inside a personalized 3D avatar, you could do almost everything you could do in real life — play basketball, meditate inside a lush landscape, attend pool parties, go clubbing, hop into a karaoke bar, watch comedians bomb during amateur night, and more — with a fantastical twist.

For example, I once attended a rave inside AltSpaceVR, but unlike in real life, I could strap on a pair of butterfly wings (and other funky costume items), enabling me to fly around the "outdoor" space. I could rock out on the ground or headbang to the DJ's music while hovering in the air.

But now, that's all over. Microsoft decided to shutter AltSpaceVR by March 10, and truth be told, I'm gutted. It was the only app that was closest to 'Ready Player One' as we know it. The only other tech giant working on anything remotely similar is Meta — we're screwed.

Why AltSpaceVR was the closest thing we had to an ideal metaverse

Yeah, there are other social VR apps like VRChat and Rec Room, but none are remotely as refined as AltSpaceVR. 

The former is a cartoonish nightmare filled with total anarchy (I, by the way, got the opportunity to explore VRChat's seedy strip club community). VRChat gives users too much leniency regarding avatar modification, making the worlds look bizarre. I've seen Kermit the Frog, Patrick Star, a vast array of anime characters — and even Breaking Bad's Walter White Jr. They can all be resized to users' liking, too, so you can see some avatars practically poking out of the roof as well as ultra-tiny characters that wander by your feet. VRChat also is notorious for its trolling and bullying problem, but the folks behind the app seem to think that "just block 'em" addresses the issue.

Rec Room is the best out of the two options, delivering an incredible number of immersive games like laser tag inside gorgeous LED arenas and paintball with fun places to hide from enemy fire. However, if I didn't know any better, I'd think it was a pre-school sim. There are too many damn rowdy, squeaky-voiced children on this app.

AltSpaceVR, on the other hand, resolved the flaws highlighted in both aforementioned apps, offering an immersive metaverse experience that blurs the line between simulation and reality. In AltSpaceVR, besides changing your avatar's hair, skin, eye color and clothes, you cannot modify it further. As such, everyone's eyes meets yours. (They're not towering over you or nipping at your feet like VRChat.) AltSpaceVR also features mods and admin whom don't play around.  With zero tolerance for hateful tirades and other experience-ruining BS, mods aren't afraid to swiftly hit the ban button, which I appreciated. On top of that, AltSpaceVR, unlike the other two apps, targets users 18 years old and up. Even if you breathe like a child, you're getting kicked out, so it has more of a mature, grown-up vibe.

Secondly, unlike VRChat and RecRoom, AltSpaceVR is graphically stunning, from the beautifully constructed vivid 3D avatars to community campsite that looks like a cross between the Garden of Eden and Vail, Colorado.

As such, the metaverse market is losing its VIP player, leaving us with a bunch of benchwarmers with little to no potential.

But what about Meta's Horizon Worlds metaverse app?

Horizon Worlds, taking notes from Roblox and Minecraft, is Meta's embarrassing attempt at materializing "the metaverse" into reality. I'd describe it as a mega VR playground where you can meet strangers and friends, but it's buggy AF and the graphics are an eyesore.

I explored Horizon Worlds a few times, but eventually abandoned it out of boredom. And guess what? I'm not the only one. According to a report from The Washington Street Journal, "most visitors to Horizon generally don’t return to the app after the first month." At launch, Meta was hoping to attract 500,000 monthly users, but as of October 2022, the social media giant drew in less than half of that figure (200,000). Ouch! To put it into perspective, Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp collectively attract nearly four billion average monthly users.

According to an internal Meta document WSJ acquired, an employee described Horizon Worlds as a "cold, empty world." Hell, at one point, Horizon Worlds was broadcasting a whole Katy Perry concert inside the app — and it was a total wasteland.

The saddest part is that Meta, as per The Verge, is pouring billions of dollars into making "the metaverse" a thing, but Horizon Worlds is the best it could come up with?

Horizon Worlds isn't all bad; it has some entertaining aspects. For example, you can meet up with a friend in the metaverse and get teleported through a marathon of games, including a fun challenge that requires you to use a catapult to destroy your opponent's pirate ship. Again, I find the graphics to be too rudimentary, but being dropped into a variety of different games with your friend definitely keeps things interesting. 

However, Horizon Worlds simply doesn't encapsulate what most people think of when they hear the word "metaverse" (a simulated universe that mimics real life). Sure, you can play games inside Horizon Worlds, attend open-mic nights, and other events, but something felt off. After mulling it over, I finally put my finger on it: it doesn't "flow" like the real world.

What do I mean by this? Well, in AltSpaceVR, the first place you're dropped into is your apartment. Yes, you have your own humble abode in AltSpaceVR! People can visit you inside your home, too. 

From there, you can teleport to the community campsite (AltSpaceVR's central hub where you can meet up with friends and socialize with strangers), which is not only visually stunning, but features plenty of interactive features. For example, you can grab a marshmallow on a stick, place it over the campfire, and watch it roast — but don't overcook it because it will burn! You can even "eat" it (it disappears when you put it up to your mouth). See? Real-world flow!

With Horizon Worlds, on the other hand, you don't have your own apartment. Everyone's basically a hobo in Meta's rendition of the metaverse. The app, like AltSpaceVR, has a central hub called The Plaza, but it's not nearly as interactive nor fun.

This isn't to say that AltSpaceVR didn't have its cons. For example, I wish my apartment was more customizable, ensuring that my metaverse home reflected my funky personality and campy tastes, but I haven't seen any significant upgrades to the app since I started using it in 2020. (This should have been my first clue that Microsoft had intentions of abandoning the app). 

Outlook

Microsoft, according to TechCrunch, decided to sunset AltSpaceVR — our last hope for anything remotely successful in the VR metaverse market — to shift its focus toward Mesh (the company's VR workplace collaboration platform). Lame!

At the outset, I mentioned all the spectacular events I attended via AltSpaceVR, but it's also worth noting that the app developed a heart-warming reputation of being a welcoming virtual space that attracted a cornucopia of weekly and daily meetups, including LGBTQ+ get-togethers, faith-based gatherings, free educational classes, Alcoholics Anonymous, therapy sessions, language exchanges, and more.

At one point, I even saw a wedding — yes, two people actually tied the knot in the metaverse — on AltSpaceVR's event calendar, but I didn't get a chance to attend.

But Microsoft wants to wipe this gem off the face of the planet, leaving us with lowbrow apps like VRChat, Rec Room and Horizon Worlds, to chase futile ambitions. (I've already expressed my thoughts on how  I feel about "the powers that be" pushing this VR workplace nonsense — it's laughable).

At this point, I'm even more skeptical about whether a platform within the metaverse market will ever reach Ready Player One nirvana, but if we ever do, mark my words: Meta won't be the one to do it.

The Laptop Mag team attended CES 2023 and had the privilege of hopping from booth to booth to see what new technologies companies are cooking up this year. After several days of exploring several showroom floors, we started to notice a pattern. From wellness-focused wearables to audio-emanating smart glasses, the trends at the annual Consumer Electronics Show were clear.

Curious to see what trends we’ve spotted? You should be! After all, there’s a good chance that these technologies will be interwoven into our daily lives in the near future, whether you like it or not. Take a look at some of the patterns we’ve spotted at the world-famous Las Vegas-based tech trade show.

3D displays on laptops

What’s old is new again. I first covered 3D laptops a decade ago and it was absolutely a fad. There were a couple of different kinds of panels and glasses, and not nearly enough content. I knew that they’d eventually come back — just not this soon. But here I am writing about 3D laptops again, and I’ve got to say, I’m excited by what I’m seeing so far. Instead of using dorky-looking glasses to make the magic happen, these next-gen machines coming from Acer and Asus rely on eye-tracking sensors and software to inject that extra dimension. And what’s cooler, Acer’s bringing the effect to a lightweight, portable monitor.

On the content front, Asus and Acer are taking different approaches. The former is targeting content creators while the latter is sticking to traditional gaming with a touch of creation. During our demo with the Acer Predator Helios 300 SpatialLabs Edition laptop, I explored the area around Freya’s tortoise house in God of War (2018). And on the Asus ProArt StudioBook 16 3D, we manipulated a human heart which when paired with the haptic touchpad added an actual heartbeat for an even more immersive experience. It’s just a glimpse into a 3D resurgence that could be more than a fad this time around. 

— Sherri L. Smith. Editor in Chief 

The metaverse

Whenever I heard the word “metaverse” at CES 2023, I couldn’t help but groan. The reason I’d grumble about it is because companies seemed to interweave the word “metaverse” into their marketing language in nonsensical ways.

LG was a big perpetrator of misusing the buzzword. For example, at CES, the South Korean tech company boasted about a new “smart metaverse TV.” allowing users to access “super high-fidelity interconnected virtual worlds'' in their living rooms, as per a press release. According to Crypto News, LG inked a deal with Oorbit that will allow its smart TV users to attend virtual concerts. On top of that, LG is working on allowing users to buy and sell NFTs on smart TV devices.

Truth be told, I do think this is a little gimmicky and LG is simply capitalizing on a popular buzzword, but I saw a handful of other companies piggybacking off the metaverse craze, too. Still, I’m willing to admit that I could be proven wrong and perhaps LG is truly future-proofing its smart TVs for the onset of Web 3.0.

— Kimberly Gedeon, Editor

Hearing aids disguised as earbuds

CES 2023 was aflush with representatives showcasing hearing-enhancing tech. Under this umbrella of avante-garde wizardry, many of the products were earbuds disguised as hearing aids. This includes the Jabra Enhance Plus earbuds and the Sennheiser Conversation Clear Plus earbuds. We even spotted a pair of smart glasses called AirGo3 Pro that are designed to enhance the wearer’s hearing. EarGo is a pair of hearing aids that aren’t necessarily earbuds, but they’re designed to be discreet and clandestine.

What’s with the sudden onslaught of hearing-enhancing tech? Well, thanks to a new ruling from the FDA in August 2022, consumers with mild to moderate hearing loss can now purchase over-the-counter hearing aids — without a medical exam, professional fitting or prescription. Consequently, the tech industry hit the ground running to provide consumers with attractive, avante-garde options to boost and augment their hearing.

— Kimberly Gedeon, Editor

Advanced Chromebooks

CES 2023 announced the next generation of advanced mid-range Chromebooks. This inevitable hardware upgrade evens the playing field by making Chromebooks more on par with Windows laptops. The forthcoming HP Dragonfly Pro Chromebook for example, is powered by Intel’s 12th Gen CPU alongside 16GB of RAM. HP engineers didn’t skimp on audio performance either, it boasts Bang & Olufsen quad speakers. And with enhanced video conferencing tools and security features, it takes hybrid working productivity to the next level. HP has yet to reveal the price of its new Dragonfly Pro Chromebook which is due out this spring. However, if the cost of advanced Chromebooks like this one undercut similar Windows machines, we could see an uptick of consumers gravitating towards Chrome OS.

— Hilda Scott, Deals Writer

Haptics

VR was everywhere at CES 2023, but PSVR 2 hands-on aside, it wasn’t so much the headsets that grabbed our attention. While VR has a ways to go before it achieves complete mainstream acceptance, it has enough of an install base and the promise of a critical mass coming in the future that accessories surrounding VR are proliferating. Haptics were one of the most obvious examples at CES with many of the pre-CES shows featuring haptic gloves, shirts, and more. I joked that one resembled the return of the Nintendo Power Glove (kids ask your parents), but our intrepid Content Editor Jason England put his body on the line in an OWO haptic shirt. 

The demo simulated a gust of wind, being bitten by a spider, being punched, being stabbed, and finally being shot. So yeah, that escalated quickly. At $499 the shirt is expensive, but not completely inaccessible and a positive sign for an early and likely low production run of such a product. You can read more about the haptic shirt and watch Jason’s VR trial by fire, but this was just one of several such products shown off at CES 2023, so we’ll be curious to see what the next year brings for haptics in VR. 

— Sean Riley, Assistant Managing Editor

Audio-playing smart glasses

RayBan Stories smart glasses have some stiff competition trickling into the market, so Meta better watch out! Though, truth be told, the social media giant needn’t worry about the smart glasses Paula Abdul was hawking at CES 2023. Called IdolEyes “Straight Ups,” we had a hands-on experience with Abdul’s smart glasses. It’s cool that they play audio, I guess, but the build quality was poor and the temples were quite flimsy. One wrong move, and they’d snap!

The smart glasses that Meta really needs to watch out for are the AirGo3 smart glasses — I tested these at CES 2023, and they’re elite. The audio that emanates from these bad boys is crisp, smooth, and honeyed. It also delivers 3D spatial audio like you wouldn’t believe. Nailing the surround-sound experience, when you listen to music on the AirGo3 smart glasses, it truly feels like a boombox is circling around you.

— Kimberly Gedeon, Editor

Augmented and virtual reality headsets

At CES 2023, Sony revealed the PSVR 2 and HTC unveiled the Vive XR Elite headset, kicking off the next-generation of VR head-mounted displays. VR headsets are getting sleeker, lighter, and offer better visual fidelity than ever. We’ve also stumbled upon several AR headsets from lesser-known companies, including one that lets you connect a headset to your phone for immersive mobile gaming.

Gamers have been begging for more immersion, and companies like Sony and HTC are delivering that in the form of seemingly kickass VR headsets with crisp resolution and fast refresh rates. With VR haptic suits and gloves joining the party, it’s only a matter of time before the lines between reality and simulated worlds become blurred.

— Kimberly Gedeon, Editor

Sleep-focused wearables

Insomnia affects between 33% and 50% of adult Americans, according to Cleveland Clinic, so it’s no wonder that companies are rolling out tech devices, wearables specifically, to help consumers track and enhance their sleep. 

For example, at CES 2023, Citizen showcased its CZ Watch, which taps into wellness software based on NASA's Ames Research Center and IBM's AI Watson platform. The CZ watch helps users understand their fatigue levels, and it even helps users anticipate periods when they may become tired. Consequently, it will provide CZ watch owners instructions on how to combat fatigue.

We also discovered the Frenz brainband at CES 2023, a headband that lulls you to sleep using artificial intelligence. It analyzes your brain, and as a result, curates audio from its portfolio of soothing acoustics and other therapies to help you drift to sleep faster. My colleague Laptop Mag Editor Jason England found the brainband to be slightly uncomfortable, but I still find the concept to be super cool.

— Kimberly Gedeon, Editor

The Metaverse — what is it? So many companies uttered the phrase during their CES 2023 keynotes, but as it turns out, absolutely none of them have a clue what it is.

From honest mistakes to cynical attempts to sound on trend with what the cool kids are talking about, practically every brand managed to force the turn of phrase into their promotional efforts. So let’s take a closer look at the worst offenders, and help them out with an actual definition.

What is a Metaverse?

The term “Metaverse” came from a 1992 science fiction novel called Snow Crash, written by Neal Stephenson. In it, he talks about a three-dimensional virtual space that you explore as an avatar. 

And this very much sums up what the Metaverse is: a virtual-reality space and an extension of the internet into a living community you explore almost like a second world. At least, that’s what I and the rest of the world thought it was, until multiple companies at CES blurted out this buzzword with no relevance to its actual meaning.

What companies think it is?

I mean let’s take a look at the most egregious offense, which comes courtesy of LG. When talking about its range of OLED TVs, which are mighty impressive for sure, the presenter talked about being able to explore the “TV Metaverse.” What the hell is a TV Metaverse? Tweet me if you figure it out, because it's bamboozled us all.

So, if we were to extrapolate from this and many other uses similar to this, it almost seems as if any social community with a pool of content is considered a Metaverse in the eyes of these companies. 

Everybody loves a trend

But I’m not mad. Like my Mum every time I was caught playing PlayStation past my bedtime, I’m not angry, just disappointed. CES is not only the place to see the future of tech, but it's the place where companies will brute force any trending terms into presentations for no reason whatsoever.

The result isn't an utter catastrophe, but it does muddy the waters and potentially hold back meaningful progress. Any buzzword that’s picked up becomes a bit of a running joke throughout the event, as it's shoehorned into any and all conversations without any real contextual understanding.

Ultimately this habitual misuse of a term can render it meaningless, so please stop trying to shoehorn the metaverse into your keynote before you kill it.

Cosmonious High is looking to put a brand-new galactic spin on your next Meta experience with a virtual high school simulator to complement Owlchemy Labs’ already-popular Job Simulator and Vacation Simulator titles for the Oculus Quest 2 and Steam VR. 

As Laptop Mag’s resident space cadet – and giant child – it seemed only appropriate that I take this VR app for a spin. Besides, going undercover as a new student at an alien high school sounded super fun, and probably less illegal than whatever totally-not-horrifying Never Been Kissed situation I could manage in the real world. 

The dev team bills Cosmonious High as a colorfully complex combo of “Sesame Street meets Fraggle Rock,” and as a now-nostalgic human who was born in the mid-80s, that’s pretty much all I needed to hear before accepting this assignment from my editors. Call me impulsive.

Is it time for your family to enroll in Cosmonious High? To find out, I spent an entire afternoon wandering around Owlchemy’s virtual school from my Oculus Quest 2 headset. Read on to see how my alienation education is going. 

Cosmonius High price and availability

Released in late March, Cosmonious High is available for both the Oculus Quest 2 and Steam VR platforms; both versions cost $30. As far as I’m concerned, that’s a bargain-bin price for any tuition, since that one-time fee gets you a full ride at an off-planet private school – and five individual IDs, to boot. That’s way cheaper than any study abroad opportunity I had access to back in my university days.

Cosmonius High back to school

When I first opened the app, I entered the lobby/homeroom of Cosmonious High, which, as I took in my surroundings, appears to be a colorful orb floating in space with a yellow spaceship-esque school bus docked to one side. Once I selected a student ID card and scanned my virtual paw, my homeroom teacher informed me that my alien species was called Prismi, which is known for “adapting spontaneously in times of need.” Sounds handy. 

I’m the only Prismi at Cosmonious High, said my homeroom teacher, which added an additional layer of uniqueness to my avatar as I navigated the school grounds – err, space. But first, I had to pick out a backpack, check myself out in the mirror, and hop on the bus. 

High school is inevitably fraught with drama, and the Owlchemy team wastes no time bringing that drama right to your glowing fingertips. After boarding the quirky, intergalactic school bus, which I activated via key, it zooms right over to Cosmonious High: “where everything is totally fine.” Is it though? Because if my old high school let the kids take the wheel and drive their own bus route when they were picked up every day, I would have grown up to be a career mortician for sure.

No surprise, my bus literally crash-lands into the high school itself, and I have a few fires to put out — literally — before introducing myself to fellow students. It’s cool, though, because as a Prismi, I spontaneously sprouted water-wielding powers when those fires sprang up, which came in pretty – ahem – handy for extinguishing them. Each time you activate a new ability, there’s a Mario 64-esque cutscene to celebrate it, complete with haptic feedback on the controllers.

Certain parts of the school remain locked until you complete various assignments, side quests, and puzzles, which were genuinely fun to figure out as I navigated from one colorful environment to the next. It’s kind of a stimulation overload, to be honest; I could have done for more earth tones, which might be an ironic request, but whatevs. My eyeballs could only handle about 30 minutes of Cosmonious VR at a time. Once the hallway was clear of pesky fires, I meandered my way into Chemosophy class, which already had a few other classmates in attendance.

Bonus: You can dynamically interact with all the colorful characters you encounter, and that includes random high fives. Score! 

Cosmonius High classroom activities and puzzles

Unlike my old high school, which was relegated to pesky 45-minute periods every day, it appears you can just wander from one class to another as you please at Cosmonious High, which is awesome, because hall passes suck. In Chemosophy class, I helped one student with an outside-the-box science experiment by using my ice-throwing powers inside a cartoony particle collider. 

Next, I followed the teacher’s instructions to create – and then accidentally burn – a substance called Stickium using the “alchemizer” from my cosmic chemistry set. I genuinely had a fun time with these interactive ingredients, which feel like actual chemistry from a jokey alternative universe.  

Next, I popped over to Visualetics, which is an aptly named classroom environment where you can make all sorts of interactive art. For example, I picked up some giant paintballs in the Splat Zone and tossed them at the whiteboard on the wall to create some colorful smears — all over the floor. Whoops. Next, I chatted with a nearby student and used my crystal-building power to make them a sword and shield for some unseen adventure they kept teleporting to. 

As you complete more classroom assignments and interact with other classmates scattered throughout the game, you gain more access to the various departments of Cosmonious High, all the while getting the hint that something is a little funky with administration. (Also, it’s possible that the school was struck by a meteor just before I arrived. There are actual fires in the hallways, after all.) 

In order for me to gain access to the grand hall, I first had to fix the circuitry outside the door with my crystal-building powers. Here’s a video of me figuring this out in real time:

Cosmonius High playability – and jokes!

After a few hours of wandering the halls and experimenting with my alien abilities, I started to see what the Owlchemy team meant by “Sesame Street meets Fraggle Rock.” While your barely literate youngster might have oodles of fun with all those colorful puzzles and classroom experiments, if you look around Cosmonious High for yourself – Pittsburg Dad-style – there are plenty of clever jokes scattered throughout the school to keep your uber-evolved noggin amused. Take this scrolling billboard from the Grand Hall, for example. 

These comical Easter eggs might be my favorite part of the game. I definitely caught myself chuckling to myself as I started looking for new jokes in each room. Good news: the nerdier you are, the funnier you’ll find each school day. (Not to mention the quirky announcements in the background.) And not for nothing, but this title is rated E10+ for crude humor, so I expect the writing to remain consistently clever as you unlock the rest of Cosmonious High with your alien classmates. The ESRB takes their fart jokes quite seriously, after all, and I should know.  

The high school experience would be nothing without Taco Tuesday, so in the spirit of my little alien adventure, I brown-bagged some tacos to snarf in between classes. Experimenting with intergalactic science builds up an appetite, after all. 

Bottom line

Cosmonious High is a clever interactive take on the human high school experience, and it’s a surprisingly immersive one. Owlchemy Labs says this is the biggest interactive playground they’ve built so far, which gave me plenty of room to stretch my Prismi torso and show off those alien powers with aplomb. 

If you’d like to trade a high school simulation for something faster and more furious, check out our hands-on preview of F1 22, a racing sim that brings pedal-to-the-metal immersion to your VR headset. Looking for something more cinematic? Trek to Yomi is a more mature title that’s steeped in authentic Japanese culture. We’re always testing out the best PC games, so check back with our reviews page often to see what’s new.   

At the end of the (school) day, Cosmonious High fits right in with the rest of Owlchemy Labs’ library of playful simulations – making it fun to be the “new kid” for once – and it brings something to the table for aliens of all ages.  

Meta announces new tools coming to Horizon Worlds, allowing creators to experiment with different ways to earn money in the metaverse, such as making and selling virtual goods. If you like the idea of shopping in the metaverse as we do at a mall, you're in luck.

Aiming to let creators earn a living by offering users digital goods, services, and experiences in self-created worlds, the tools are currently available to a handful of creators in Horizon Worlds to test out the monetization feature. While it's limited for now, purchasing items in the metaverse is available to people aged 18 and up in the US and Canada. 

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The virtual goods can be just about anything creators come up with, such as attachable accessories for a fashion world, offering paid access to an exclusive new part of a world or a simple key that unlocks a door. As the announcement mentions, creators selling items will see a "Commerce" tab when they're in "Create mode" that lets them create purchasable items. While this could fall into the trap of microtransactions, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg states it "requires a lot of experimentation and creativity" to see what people using different worlds want/ 

"If you imagine what some future metaverse [at] some point down the line [would look like], clearly the ability to sell virtual goods and take them with you from one world to another is going to be an important part of it," said Zuckerberg. "But first, there need to be things that people want to buy, to get that economy going."

Zuckerberg continues: "It's not like we just put something out there, and we're done. You know, we'll see what you all build. And then we'll see what resonates with the people using the worlds, and then we'll build the next round of tools based on that and keep on improving it."

The monetization tools contribute to Meta's $10 million Horizon Creators Fund, offering creators resources to create virtual experiences in the metaverse. Meta states it will also begin testing a Horizon Worlds Creator Bonus program for those in the US, offering bonuses in the form of goal-oriented monthly programs where creators are paid at the end of the month for their progress toward a goal.

The metaverse is expanding, with users already buying real estate and Ledger setting up shop in The Sandbox's metaverse. We're interested to see what creators come up with, and if selling virtual goods can earn them a profitable living. 

The metaverse. Everybody’s favorite topic (besides NFTs). Since the internet entered the era of Web 2.0, the disabled have been pleading to take online classes and work online jobs. They were told, “It’s too complicated,” or “It’s not feasible,” but it’s painstakingly obvious that that was false.

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With the growth of cloud gaming, abstract concepts like virtual power plants becoming a reality, and the birth of satellite internet to deliver large amounts of data to the entire world, widespread metaverse adoption is inevitable. So let’s build a sandbox we all can play in (maybe without the sand).  

VR headsets and controllers are not disability friendly

Before we examine what these virtual worlds should look like, we need to understand the challenges that plague the metaverse. If you are accessing the metaverse via a game like Fortnite or Minecraft, it’s not a problem because people can purchase adaptable keyboards, mouses, game controllers and remap buttons.

This equipment can often be expensive and difficult to obtain for a group that lives off social security benefits or has limited funds. Rightfully, the Xbox Adaptive Controller (XAC) was praised for making gaming more accessible, but many companies think the problem is solved or make their systems compatible with the XAC so they don’t have to innovate new hardware. But if the XAC ($100) is purchased alongside a new system like the Xbox Series X ($500), plus a few $60 games, and an adaptive controller to plug into the XAC (potentially hundreds of dollars), how feasible is it to make your conduit to a disability-friendly metaverse?

The real issues, though, come when you have to access the metaverse by way of VR headsets. The weight of VR goggles is simply too much. Some people’s neck muscles aren’t strong enough to hold their head up, never mind strapping it with clunky hardware. Hopefully, augmented reality glasses, or some other tech innovation, comes along to make trips to the metaverse more lightweight.

Another issue with VR sets is the controllers. The dual handles have buttons or joysticks that fit snugly in each hand, but some people may be missing a limb or don’t possess the dexterity to operate these controllers. The controllers also don’t have ports like the XAC, so a disabled person couldn’t even use a controller that works for them. There are VR headsets like the Oculus Quest 2 that have hand tracking, so some games can be played without controllers, but the technology is in nascent stages and is frustratingly sub-par. 

This is not to mention that some neurodiverse people don’t have the mind-splitting ability to utilize controllers in different hands. Similarly, it may be difficult to control an avatar when there is a cognitive disconnect because you can’t see what your fingers are doing on the controller. Metaverse enthusiasts point out that in future versions, controllers will not be needed because a person will be able to move and use their limbs freely. This presents an entirely new set of problems: what if you can’t move your limbs the way you want and/or prefer a controller?

In addition to all of those obstacles, the most obvious matter is ‘What about the blind or visually impaired?’ On a pragmatic level, how are the two screens of VR glasses (one for each eye) supposed to work together to create an immersive, three-dimensional picture if you can only see out of one eye? How can such a visual medium create a virtual utopia for the legally blind? 

If the metaverse is going to be a future workplace and socializing spot for everyone, the deafblind aren’t even a blip on the radar. How will someone who navigates the world by the tactile touch of Braille explore the endless landscapes of the metaverse? Many would conveniently say “Maybe the metaverse is meant for the deafblind,” but they are part of the all in ‘accessible for all’. They are part of our virtual yonder. Haben Girma is a deafblind woman who graduated from Harvard Law, spoke at conferences, wrote articles for big publications, and traveled extensively. She is someone that should be in any metaverse — and is an example of what the deafblind are capable of.

The metaverse needs better representation of disabled persons

The metaverse has able-bodied avatars, so users will erroneously assume that everyone can walk, talk, see and hear like the ‘normal’ majority. Certainly, there will be people who choose an avatar that is more of an ideal body, but what about those that already recognize their bodies as whole? What about the disabled who just want to be themselves? The reason we can customize skin color and gender in games today is because minorities felt there were no accurate portrayals of themself on screen. Why not do the same thing by giving an avatar a mobility aid, hearing aid or white cane? If everyone has an opportunity to create a digital twin of themself, why wouldn’t a disabled person want a chance to see themselves represented in the metaverse?

Like we have seen in film and television, representation matters. Being acknowledged can inspire confidence in an individual while providing an entire community with a sense that they belong in that world. The bones of this inclusiveness is being built at the World Wide Web Consortium. It employs several people with disabilities to help create the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). The WCAG sets standards for austere elements of the internet like text sizes, font contrasts, etc. This might not seem like a big deal, but it is for thousands of disabled people. It provides a set of blueprints to make various elements in tech accessible.

The only problem with the WCAG is that they are voluntary, but they’re also a law under Section 508 for federal employees and their contractors. This causes confusion for when the WCAG must be applied. And, of course, private companies only have to follow ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) Title III, which has not been updated to mention rules for internet accessibility. The lone saving grace for the disabled has been that courts and /industry experts repeatedly confirm that WCAG provides a reasonable accessibility standard.

However, WCAG is not the only blueprint for improving digital accessibility. Perkins Access (out of The Perkins School for the Blind) cites XR Accessibility User Requirements (Also created by the organization that makes the WCAG), XR Accessibility by Berkeley Universal Design for Learning, Resources for accessible XR hosted by XR Access, and the XR Association Developer's Guide: An Industry-Wide Collaboration for Better XR as good resources to create a more equitable metaverse. And software engineers working on gaming worlds can adhere to the Game Accessibility Guidelines and the Xbox Accessibility Guidelines (XAG for short). But these are also unofficial practices that are written and maintained by (mostly) able-bodied industry experts. With much of Congress in their 40s or 50s when the internet became popular, who knows when there will be laws for creating accessible 3D experiences.

The metaverse could be a haven for disabled persons

Once the disabled can access the metaverse, there are many reasons for optimism. For example, everyone’s involvement can be personalized. If a concert is too loud, an individual can turn their private volume down. Someone who is hard of hearing can turn the captions on their screen and make them as large or small as they want — without changing everyone’s experience. You’ve heard promises of grandeur from Mark Zuckerberg and the like before, but when users in metaverse-style games like Roblox raise awareness on issues of accessibility, it is hard not to feel hopeful about the metaverse’s prospects. Unlike in the physical world, when a user brings an accessibility problem to light it is not interpreted as a problem, but rather a design opportunity. This friendlier perspective is because the problem won’t take money to fix, just different code.

These single pieces of feedback are like thousands of pebbles being thrown into a digital ocean that can cause ripples across the developer community, catalyzing changes in current and future projects. AR Apps like TapTapSee, which allows users to point their phone’s camera at an object and have it described to them, could galvanize a movement of better accessibility in the metaverse. These innovations only scratch the surface of what creative minds can accomplish if we build with accessibility at the forefront of our minds.

It should be noted that there are talented hardware and software engineers working on accessibility in the metaverse right now. However, the whole situation is eerily similar to how the people designing the AI everyone uses everyday failed those with dark skin. It’s on us to lay the foundation of an accessible metaverse so we can all play inside it. We don’t need a metaverse that meets some arbitrary bare minimum; we should be producing worlds that are far superior to the physical world. As we have seen from Covid-19, anyone can acquire a disability without warning, so let us use the technology at our disposal to create an accessible metaverse.

Virtuoso is a music-creation VR app that transports your creative soul into the metaverse — even if you’ve never picked up an analog instrument before. Bulky bongos are finally a thing of the past, and the music of tomorrow has never been so sparkly. I mean, just check out the razzle-dazzle of this preview trailer.

By definition, a virtuoso is someone who excels in artistic technique, but that doesn’t really explain what this VR app is capable of. Published by Stockholm-based Fast Travel Games (who also handled Wraith: The Oblivion - Afterlife), Virtuoso is set to officially launch on March 10 for $20 for Meta Quest and SteamVR users. The company describes Virtuoso as “a virtual music creation sandbox that lets anyone bring melodic creations to life in VR.” Color me intrigued.

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While I’d hardly consider myself a musician in any way, shape, or form, I’m certainly a giant child who loves marching to the beat of his own drum —  virtual or otherwise — so it was no surprise when Kim Gedeon asked me to take Virtuoso for a spin on the Quest 2. Let’s dive right in. 

Virtuoso — Futuristic environment

Despite what the video above may lead us to believe, you don’t actually need your own vacant parking garage to jam out in the metaverse. You do need a bit of space to swing your arms around, though. The musical instruments at your disposal in Virtuoso might look slightly different than the stuff gathering dust in the back of your parents’ garage, and they’re a helluva lot more compact. (Read: mobile.) 

You can select one of four environments in Virtuoso: futuristic islands, a magical forest, plain (for zero distractions) and passthrough, which incorporates your current reality into VR by letting you jam out inside your real-time surroundings (e.g. your living room) as opposed to a simulated backdrop. VR apps like Supernatural spoiled me when it comes to eye-catching surrounding scenery, but Virtuoso’s backgrounds take second chair to the tunes you create in the middle of them. Still, everyone has a different creative process, and it’s good to see a few interesting soundstages to choose from. My favorite thus far is passthrough mode. It instantly turns my home office into a recording studio — augmented reality style. 

Now, about those instruments. Forget about boring ol’ pianos, guitars or drum kits. Say hello to your new creative tools.

Virtuoso — Instruments

Once you’ve settled on the right atmosphere, it’s time to build your own custom soundstage with Virtuoso’s lineup of unique virtual instruments:

Oorgan: Each button plays a different note that changes as you move your hand along a certain axis. For example, left-right for the trigger, and up-down for X and A buttons. Once you get the hang of it, holding multiple buttons lets you play harmonious chords.

Empads: Use your virtual drum sticks to create a good rhythm. Tempo Sync helps you keep the beat; you can even isolate individual drum pads to create a unique setup.

Wavemin: Press a button with your hand inside the Wavemin to play a note. Next, sweep your hand up and down to change the pitch; pushing your hand further into the Wavemin achieves additional resonation. (Perfect for risers, low noisy grumblings and whale sounds.)

wHarp: Drag your hands across the wHarp to generate sound. The further up on the strings you play, the louder the notes.

Clustr: Tap the blocks with any button to play a chord; tilt your hand to make the chord swell and wane. (The further up you play on each block, the more spaced apart the notes get.) Playing at the bottom generates a tight cluster; at the top it creates a wide open chord. 

Board: Insert both of your hands and tap the cubes to generate sound. You can hold a note with one button, then move your hand to play a second note with a different button. Doing this with the Arpeggiator activated will make the notes play in sequence.

Microphone: As the name of this tool suggests, the full release will let you add your own vocals, too. (Presumably with cool sound effects and autotune…?) Luckily for you, dear reader, this feature was disabled during my testing.

Note: The preview build for Virtuoso only gave me access to the Empads, Board, and wHarp. Stay tuned for full impressions upon the official release next month. 

Virtuoso — Setting the (sound) stage

Once I familiarized myself with the basic controls and menu selections, it was time to assemble my own one-man-band situation. This ended up being my favorite part. You can tweak the exact size and angle of every floating instrument (along with other tools) to your heart’s desire, whether you want to sit or stand in the process. And while I may not be a musician, I know a thing or two about setting up creative workstations, so here’s what I came up with. 

In passthrough mode, it feels like I’m standing in the middle of my own music studio. Literally. In a way, it’s actually somewhat more immersive. Can you stick your head inside a piano while you play it? Because you can totally do that with the Board, I accidentally discovered. 

OK, now that all of my musical tools are assembled and within reach, it’s time to see what sort of tunes I can build from scratch. I spent about an hour just experimenting with what kinds of sounds each instrument makes, and how to manipulate those sounds. (Which is a fun exercise in its own right, by the way; it really did bring out my inner child as I played with these instruments from the future.) The controls are more intuitive than I imagined they’d be, and even though I don’t know my musical scales, I could limp my way along to an ad-hoc melody with some good ol’ trial-and-error. (Read: playing by ear.)

Virtuoso — Laying down the tracks

For musical noobs such as myself, it was good to see a few tutorials to help me get started. These short videos were definitely useful for getting familiar with the UI, so hopefully they have more with the full release. (One or two for each instrument would be nice.)

Once I had a handle on using the looper, I was able to sync up the tempo for each individual sound I added, then piece it all together for my metaverse masterpiece. Feast your ears on my music from the future: 

Honestly, I’m pretty proud of my new art, imperfect as it may be. The full version of the app comes with community sharing options; it will be interesting to see how those features are implemented down the line. Give me a few months of casual practice, and I bet I could come up with some pretty solid tunes.

Outlook

Part of Virtuoso’s elevator pitch is that virtually any human can enjoy it, no matter your inclination toward music, rhythm or rhyme. As promised, it really didn’t take that long for me to catch on to the platform as a whole. 

In its current form, I probably wouldn’t spend $20 on this app, but when Virtuoso officially hits Meta Quest and SteamVR app stores, you’ll get double the instruments, a couple more soundstage environments, plus the ability to add vocals and share your creations with others. Overall, I’d say that gives you enough bang for the buck, especially if you’re a musician in any capacity. But even if you’re not, Virtuoso’s a pretty fun way to make some unique art in the metaverse, no matter when you feel like plugging in. 

Ugh, the metaverse! Aren’t you tired of hearing that overused buzzword? I know I am! It’s been popping up everywhere like Whac-a-Mole since Facebook — er, I mean “Meta” — announced its rebranding at its Connect livestream on Oct. 28. “What the heck is a metaverse?” was the question of the hour after CEO Mark Zuckerberg unveiled Meta’s commitment to creating an immersive, interactive, virtual realm that simulates our physical plane.

The metaverse, to be succinct, is a shared virtual world, and by that definition, it’s not new. You can sink hours upon hours into Minecraft and Roblox, which provide metaverse-esque, collaborative gameplay experiences.

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And if we take it back even further, platforms such as Second Life, IMVU, Habbo Hotel and Club Penguin were all the rage (I’ve had accounts on all four embarrassingly enough). 

I’d roam around these chaotic digital worlds filled with pixelated avatars yearning for meaningful interactions I couldn’t find in real life. As such, the metaverse isn’t a novel concept, but it is evolving into a new space that makes “Ready Player One” seem like an au courant film.

As it stands now, you can put on Meta’s Oculus Quest 2 headset and interact with VR users halfway across the world, from Shanghai to Medellín. I’ve played laser tag with Dutch teammates inside an LED-decorated arena equipped with sniper guns, grenades and laser orb launchers. 

I’ve boogied down with an LA native inside a massive electronica club that spared me the stench of real-life BO. I’ve listened to amateur comedy sets while sipping digital hot chocolate in a virtual cafe. 

Hell, the metaverse is even taking over the workplace (I’ve visited the Facebook office in VR).

The mindblowing potential of the metaverse 

You see, I thought I had “the metaverse” figured out. After all, I’ve already explored the far corners of many shared virtual worlds — until I stumbled upon a tweet that made me realize how much I underestimated the metaverse’s expanse and magnitude.

“A guy just told me he is making $4,000 a week with a virtual gas station with an NFT in a game world. That’s more than a real gas station profits,” @TheCoffeeBlock posted on Twitter. “Crypto is absolutely absurd!”

At this point, I heard the record scratch sound effect in my head and yelled, “What?! This can’t be real!” Let me rephrase that tweet: there’s a man currently making killer returns from a virtual gas station inside an NFT-based game called PolkaCity. 

The skeptic inside me kicked in, but after some in-depth research, I can tell you that this passive income-yielding, digital gas station NFT is, indeed, legit. Before I dive into my findings, it’s important for you to understand, dear reader, that the cryptocurrency world is aflush with risky protocols that allow investors to earn shockingly high interest rates on their digital assets, especially if they’re early adopters of a token. To entice investors to purchase their tokens, developers often seduce them with a high APY rewards system — I’m talkin’ 20%, 50% and even 300% yearly returns. This isn’t always fortuitous for investors, though. Some tokens end up being worthless shitcoins with zero utility and value. Every once in a while, however, one of those brand-spankin’ new tokens become a gem — and PolkaCity is one of them.

The mystery man behind the shocking tweet

After seeing the tweet, my curiosity ate me up inside. I had to reach out to this fascinating character who owns this fruitful PolkaCity NFT. Fortunately, he agreed to speak with me. The man in question is known as Crypto Sensei on Twitter, but behind the handle is 37-year-old Robert Doyle who foresaw the emergence of virtual real estate far before the metaverse became the annoying buzzword that it is today.

“Yeah, I've seen it coming. I've been playing video games since I was young,” Doyle said. “Usually, when you're playing a regular video game, you gather equipment and you spend countless hours on all this stuff, but then that's it! You cannot sell that stuff. It's just in your account. And so with blockchain gaming, it really opens up new doorways to really own what you're playing.”

For example, my co-worker Rami Tabari recently purchased a $30 motorcycle from Final Fantasy XIV. Calling it “sexy,” Tabari told me he can cruise around with it in-game and show off his new ride, but what happens when he gets bored? 

He can’t do anything with it. He can’t resell it on a marketplace nor earn interest on it. The motorcycle just sits inside FFXIV collecting digital dust. However, thanks to the emergence of play-to-earn games like Axie Infinity, in-game assets — typically minted as NFTs — actually have resale value outside of the metaverse where players can profit from their purchases.

Doyle, an expert at discovering high-risk, high-reward crypto protocols for his Discord community Cryptonairz, stumbled upon PolkaCity, a blockchain game with a companion token of the same name (POLC), six months ago. Polkacity allows users to purchase NFT-based real estate in the game, including gas stations, gyms, art galleries, clubs and more.

“It's a little bit of a gamble,” Doyle said. “But I was like, ‘You know what? This game could be really cool.’”

Doyle took a leap of faith and purchased a virtual gas station inside PolkaCity. He shelled out $23,000 worth of POLC for the NFT. At the time, POLC was trading at around 10 cents. As a cherry on top, the gas station doles out an incredible 358% APY in interest. As of this writing, POLC is valued at $1.60. Doyle is now earning $16,000 a month — thanks to a petrol station that doesn’t even exist (at least, not in the physical realm).

And get this — the gas station isn’t the only NFT Doyle purchased from the game. “I have a bank, a billboard, four moto bikes and a helicopter,” he said. I found the moto bike and billboard to be particularly interesting. Moto bikes are the fastest land vehicle in PolkaCity, so I suspect this will be in high demand for gamers who want to get to traverse the map quickly. Billboards can be rented to third parties who want to run in-game ads and owners get a cut of the revenue.

PolkaCity: A new blockchain game touted as the 'Grand Theft Auto' of the metaverse

If you visit PolkaCity’s official website, you’ll find a marketplace where you can buy pets, vehicles, planes, jet packs and cameras, as well as barbershops, sports stadiums, clubs, art galleries, and the star of the show, gas stations.

So what, exactly, can Doyle do with his gas station in the game? According to the Informal Game Guide and Mechanics for PolkaCity NFTs, vehicles in PolkaCity start with a free daily full tank, but when gas runs out, they have two options: wait until the next day or purchase petrol at a gas station.

What puzzled me, however, is that PolkaCity isn’t even out yet. It’s slated for a December release, so how is Doyle earning mind-blowing rewards on his gas station and other NFT assets?

“How this works with any new project that comes out is that they really need people to start funding the game and buying the token, whether it's NFTs or whatever it is,” Doyle said. “The people that get there first are usually the ones that benefit the most.” In other words, as I hinted at earlier, the Polkacity developers incentivized investors to buy into the game with alluring, high APY NFTs. 

Fortunately for Doyle, his gas station ended up being a valuable investment, but it’s important to note that it wasn’t all luck. He’s skilled at deep-dive research and utilizing market capitalization math to determine whether a token has major growth potential — and he nailed it with PolkaCity. I joked that this talent helped Doyle avoid traps like the notorious Squid Game token rugpull. 

“95% of meme coins are either some type of scam, or they don't have a use case, or they don't have a proper team, or they're just trying to make money,” Doyle said, adding that he prides himself in doing proper research before sharing token projects with his Cryptonairz Discord community.

“If we can't get a meeting [with the token’s devs] or a talk to answer just some basic questions and get a real good idea of what's going on, we won't post that project,” Doyle said. As you might have guessed, Doyle contacted PolkaCity’s creators to confirm its legitimacy. “I reached out on LinkedIn and I got some questions answered,” he said. “It was one of those things that worked out in the end.”

There is a lot of excitement behind Polkacity — even Lindsay Lohan shilled Polkacity (though it’s unclear whether the tweet is sponsored). Gameplay of PolkaCity has already been released and fans are calling it the “Grand Theft Auto of the metaverse.” But I had to ask, “What happens if PolkaCity fails to live up to those expectations?"

“If the game does fail, I would've still made my money back on the NFT and still made a decent profit on everything that I made after I covered my cost. There's always a risk,” Doyle said.

I purchased a PolkaCity NFT — here's what happened

I haven’t been as lucky as Crypto Sensei — at least, not yet. I decided to test what it’s like to purchase a PolkaCity NFT; I needed to see it to believe it. Unfortunately, all the high APY NFTs, including the gas station with the 358% APY, are sold out. I managed to secure a pitbull for 350 POLC (with 104% APY) while the token was trading at $1.77. As of this writing, POLC dropped by about 20 cents. That’s alright; I just wanted to see for myself whether the PolkaCity NFT game is a bonafide project — and it is. A grand total of 7 POLCs (about $11) will be deposited into my crypto wallet each week.

Of course, the value of POLC could skyrocket and turn my fortunes around. “I think once the game launches it will be at least five dollars,” Doyle predicted. At that point, I could sell it on PolkaCity’s official website or OpenSea (the world’s most popular NFT marketplace). But it could plummet, too, leaving me with a profitless pup. No worries, though; I never invest more than I’m willing to lose.

So what’s the moral of the story? The metaverse is more mind boggling than you thought — it’s not just a virtual plane where you can interact with others while hiding behind 3D avatars. It’s so much more than that. I was limiting myself to perceiving the metaverse from a consumer mindset (e.g. buying metaverse apps and exploring virtual worlds), but there’s a whole ‘nother aspect that flew over my head — you can be the one running sh** (instead of being the consumer) with life-changing passive income.

PolkaCity’s CEO Carmelo Milian said, “I want to build a metaverse with a virtual economy where the line between virtual reality and real life is so blurred, we no longer need to have a job.” I can’t say for sure whether this hazy fusion of the physical and virtual worlds will have a positive effect on our society, but all I know is that it’s inevitable. Will you adapt, or will you get left behind?