I’ve seen the metaverse – and I don’t want it

Keza Macdonald uses a VR headset at home in Glasgow.Last modified on Tue 25 Jan 2022 18.34 GMThave spent large portions of my life in virtual worlds. I’ve played video games since I was six; as a millennial, I’ve lived online since adolescence; and I’ve been reporting on games and gaming culture for 16 years.

I do not deny that some people want this vision. Ready Player One was a runaway hit. But the metaverse as envisioned by the people currently investing in it – by tech billionaires such as Zuckerberg and Activision CEO Bobby Kotick, by techbro hucksters sellingand using words like “cryptoverse” – can only be described as spiritually bereft. It holds no interest for me.

Anyone who is marginalised in the real world, though, knows that this is not how things go down. Virtual worlds are not inherently any better than the real one. Worker exploitation exists in them – look at World of Warcraft, in which Venezuelans farm currency to sell to first-world players, or Roblox, in which young game developers have put infor little reward.

I don't care one iota what this author wants or doesn't want

If this takes off, it’ll mark the point that I become the grumpy old Luddite.

tell the world that you have no idea what you're talking about without actually mentioning Ready Player One instead of the earlier and much better book (Snowcrash) where the term actually originated from ... oh wait ... you did that anyway

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