Microsoft Joins Meta in Metaverse Race

Microsoft announced on Tuesday it will roll out its version of the metaverse with Microsoft Teams next year.

The Company said it is incorporating Mesh, its collaborative platform for virtual experiences, directly into Microsoft Teams to enable meetings to be more personal, engaging and fun.

“We are creating a new platform layer, which is the metaverse. In essence, the metaverse enables us embed computing into the real world and to embed the real world into computing bringing real presence into any digital space.

“It is no longer just looking at the camera view of a factory floor; you can be on the floor. It is no longer just videoconferencing with colleagues; you can be with them in the same room” Microsoft Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella stated.

Mesh for Teams will allow users to attend meetings using customized avatar of themselves instead of the normal picture or video. It will also enable organizations to build immersive spaces where users, through their avatars can mix, mingle, and collaborate on projects.

The Company said anyone would be able to access Mesh for Teams from standard smartphones and laptops to mixed-reality headsets.

Microsoft’s announcement comes in the wake of Facebook rebranding to Meta.

During the launch, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said the metaverse would be an immersive internet that will allow users to be active participants. “The next platform will be even more immersive. An embodied internet where you’re in the experience, not just looking at it. We call this the metaverse, and it will touch every product we build,” he said.

Zuckerberg disclosed that the Meta would not own the metaverse, “Metaverse will not be created by one company. It will be built by creators and developers making new experiences and digital items that are interoperable and unlock a massively larger creative economy than the one constrained by today’s platforms and their policies.”