Executive summary
Welcome to your weekly briefing on the metaverse and spatial computing. Here are your snippets to sound smarter in meetings this week:
Headline: McDonald’s is opening a “metaverse” in Singapore (analysis below).
London Event: The Immersive Wire is jointly hosting a networking event in London on 20 June. Come for free snacks and drinks.
Tangents series: Why I like video games.
Other stories: XR Hack is now open to applications for London (Cologne/Gamescom, Stockholm, Istanbul), with a $100k prize pool for winning teams (more stories below).
I sent a letter to David Attenborough what he would change if he was 20 again. His response was apt.
Analysis
McDonald’s is opening a “metaverse” in Singapore
What is it? The company launched the “My Happy Place” metaverse where users can participate in virtual activities, such as creating burgers. Users can access it in the McDonald’s app.
Where can I see it in action? A video is here.
Is it effective? In my view, it’s a stretch to say it’s a metaverse initiative. It is an enclosed virtual space within its own app, as a way to keep users within the McDonald’s ecosystem
Other notable stories
Got any stories? Let me know at tom (at) immersivewire (dot) com.
Meta Connect will be back 25 September.
Motive.io and Innoactive announced an LMS Integration.
Onirix Clip, an iOS alternative to WebXR for accurate AR tracking, is now fully out.
Palmer Luckey may show off a new headset at AWE USA (from June 18)
PlayStation VR2 will launch a PC VR adapter in August for $60.
Riven, a narrative puzzle-adventure game, will launch on Meta Quest 2 and 3, on 25 June.
University of East London is looking for applications to help with XR-related research.
AFWERX awarded Vuzix a development contract.
Wevr, a creative development and production studio, announced $3.5 million in new funding from HTC and Epic Games.
XR Hack is now open to applications for London (Cologne/Gamescom, Stockholm, Istanbul), with a $100k prize pool for winning teams.
Got a news story? Contact me with the details here.
Note: The Immersive Wire is run by Tom Ffiske, who also works within Accenture’s metaverse group. The contents of the newsletter should not be regarded as Accenture’s views.
