The Interoperability Challenge of Decentralized Metaverses

Liberty Metaverse simplifies cross-chain metaverse interoperability for users and brands

The metaverse is a virtual shared space created by bringing people together in multiple virtual worlds using augmented reality, virtual reality, and other immersive technologies. It is a network of interconnected virtual environments that allows users to interact with each other and the environment in a way that mimics real-life experiences.

The idea of a metaverse captured people’s imaginations with the publication Neal Stephenson’s novel “Snow Crash” in 1992. In more recent years, the metaverse has gained renewed attention due to technological advancements and the increasing popularity of virtual worlds, social gaming, and immersive experiences brought about mostly by the video game industry. Titles such as Minecraft, PUBG, and Fortnite with their open-world environments have laid the groundwork for the open, decentralized metaverse.

Many people see interoperability — the ability to unify economies, avatars and systems across worlds — as one of the defining properties of the metaverse.

Multiple virtual worlds… interconnected virtual environments… interact with each other.

While traversing the metaverses currently on offer across blockchains such as Ethereum, BNB Chain, and Polygon, it is painfully obvious that these decentralized, some would even say siloed, metaverses have yet to solve one of the defining characteristics of the metaverse — interoperability.

The importance of metaverse interoperability

Metaverse interoperability is critical for several reasons, the most obvious of which include:

1. Collaboration: Interoperability promotes and enables social interactions and collaborations. Citizens in the metaverse can form clans, guilds, or communities, and engage in various social activities, such as parties, events, and tournaments.
2. User Base Expansion: Metaverse interoperability creates a larger user base for each metaverse while creating a more extensive network of users. The sum is greater than the parts. It allows users to experience a more diverse range of virtual worlds and environments which enhances engagement and fosters loyalty. Brands are able to reach a larger target audience when operating in such an interoperable environment, too.
3. Asset Exchange Facilitation: Interoperability facilitates the exchange of digital currencies, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and other digital assets across a multitude of metaverses. Users and brands are no longer siloed and confined to one metaverse on one blockchain when interoperability standards are implemented.
4. Platform Value Enhancement: Interoperability increases the value of individual metaverses by creating a more extensive ecosystem of interconnected digital universes. It creates a more engaging and immersive experience for users leading to increased platform value and revenue.

Problems of Interoperability

The interoperability of decentralized metaverses has been beset by similar issues that trouble the blockchain industry itself. There are three fundamental problems associated with interoperability that are plaguing the industry today:

1. Technology — the systems for enabling metaverses to interoperate — the engineering problem. Virtual worlds are often built on different blockchains, using different programming languages and protocols and it is difficult, if not impossible, for users to seamlessly move across blockchains and metaverses.
2. Economic Alignment — providing the economic incentives so that groups and creators gain mutual benefits by participating in an interoperable ecosystem of metaverses has yet to be accomplished. This is a social and business problem which requires collaboration between different virtual worlds; however, it can be difficult to achieve due to conflicting business interests and revenue models.
3. Entertainment Value — even if you have the technology and the economic incentives in place, it doesn’t mean it is fun and that consumers will want it. This is a design problem.

How are metaverse interoperability issues addressed?

As the metaverse advances, brands must ensure their digital offerings are easily accessible to users on different virtual platforms. Liberty Metaverse specializes in developing innovative ways for brands to create enhanced experiences on multiple platforms. The Liberty platform allows brands and agencies to effortlessly develop, integrate, and manage products and catalogs across a variety of virtual spaces on all major blockchains.

Furthermore, Liberty Metaverse will provide white-label solutions for creating digital assets and NFTs, making it easy for brands to sell their products on websites and marketplaces. Brands and IPs that utilize Liberty’s interoperable metaverse environment will be able to reach a much broader user base by offering their digital assets and metaverse experiences across ALL leading metaverses.

Finally, by utilizing engaging and interactive gamification models, Liberty Metaverse will attract new users to the space while at the same time increasing user retention.

Liberty Metaverse is well-positioned to tackle the major challenges posed by the interoperability, or the lack thereof, of the decentralized, blockchain-based metaverse!

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