The Metaverse before Facebook: 5 platforms that let you see what the big deal is, now

Confused about the Metaverse? Why not try it for yourself?

Metaverse, you may have seen that word floating around the internet, now shot into prominence by Facebook's embrace of the terms and even its new branding, Meta.

What exactly is Metaverse?, you might ask and the answer in the simplest terms is an online, living, virtual world. Kind of like Sims but with an uninterrupted global connection.

That connection allows you to interact with people, talk to them as you would in real life but within the confines of a huge, digital world.

As novel as that idea is and the problems that may come with it, Facebook wasn't the first company in the world to try something like this. Here is a list of five companies that have gotten in on the act way before the social media giant took a liking to it.

Second Life

Very loosely termed as a game, Linden Labs' Second Life advertised itself as the virtual world to lead another life in. It is vaguely similar to Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games (MMORPG) but Linden Labs is adamant that their creation is more. There are no set objectives or specific tasks to indulge in. Instead, you earn your dues by talking to people, creating your own goals and relationships with a custom avatar that you create from scratch.

You can explore, build or even trade virtual property with other users. Linden Labs did briefly flirt with idea of bringing the experience to VR with another product called Sansar but abandoned the idea.

Horizon Worlds

Microsoft's take on the Metaverse is available on Oculus devices and allows players to explore and build using the creation tools provided with the game. You can even venture into other people's created world's using the Hub World known as Plaza.

Currently the game is in an invite-only beta phase.

NeosVR

Another Virtual Reality (VR) based experience NeosVR is a free-to-play MMORPG but with a heavy emphasis on user generated content. Using the tools provided, players can create games, maps, avatars and many more in-game items. If you find yourself scoffing at the price of a VR kit, you can also play this as a standard desktop experience with a few major caveats.

VRChat

Yet another online virtual world that allows participants to interact with others using custom avatars or exploring another player's world. Like NeosVR, VRChat is still useable without VR but similar to NeosVR, there are some limitations to the traditional experience.

Player's create their own, instanced worlds that they can invite other people to explore or visit someone else's.

There

One of the older virtual world's on this list, There first opened its doors in 2003 but financial troubles forced them to shut down in March 2010. The platform reappeared in 2012 with a subscription service in tow.

Like the worlds before it, it gives players complete freedom to make an avatar, and begin designing their own worlds. You can create a vast variety of items like clothing, buildings or furniture, which can be sold to other players.