- Dapper Labs and The Sandbox have partnered with other Web 3.0 creators to push for an interconnected Web 3.0 world
- The firms will operate under the name Open Metaverse Alliance
- Part of the alliance’s job is to prevent the monopoly of 35 tech firms that have already partnered to create an interoperable Web 3.0 space
Dapper Labs and The Sandbox have partnered with other creators in the Web 3.0 world to create Open Metaverse Alliance (OMA3), to help push for an interconnected Web 3.0 space. The alliance intends to prevent the monopoly of tech heavyweights such as Microsoft and Meta that have joined hands to build an interoperable metaverse that may or may not be decentralized. OMA3 also intends to come up with standards to guide the development of an ideal virtual world.
User-based Metaverse
OMA3 describes an open metaverse as a virtual space that is “community run, decentralized and indexable,” adding that those exploring such spaces should be able to transfer their NFTs and other identifying information frictionlessly “across multiple platforms.”
Current OMA3 members include Dapper Labs, Decentraland, Animoca Brands, Alien Worlds, Space, superworld, Upland, The Sandbox, Decentral Games, Voxels and Wivity. Governed by a Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO), it intends to counter any monopoly or takeover by Microsoft and Meta who are part of 35 tech companies that came together to launch the Metaverse Standards Forum (MSF) in June this year.
Can Meta Really Build an Open Metaverse?
Although MSF and OMA3 have a similar vision for the metaverse, those in Web 3.0 are skeptical about whether Web 2.0 companies can really build a completely user-owned virtual space. Additionally, MSF’s membership doesn’t include a reputable Web 3.0 creator further fueling suspicion that they want to build a metaverse where platforms, and not users, have control of assets.
The tension around what the metaverse should look like is common even as industry veterans such as Ethereum co-founder Joe Lubin note that we still have 28 years before the metaverse matures.
