Summary
- M²(MSquared), a start-up by Improbable, aims to bridge Web3 worlds with metaverse interoperability
- M² is using Morpheus technology to enable massive virtual events and aid gaming
- M² secures $150m in investments from first funding round and a $1b valuation
London-based tech company, Improbable, has been focusing on virtual worlds for some time, developing technology and services for large-scale digital experiences. You may not have heard of Improbable, but they have had a hand in some interesting occurrences in gaming in the last few years. For example, the game Scavengers tested some new tech and then hosted a virtual event that made some headlines:
Yesterday, Improbable announced that it raised $150m to aid in building M², a metaverse network and ecosystem using Improbable’s Morpheus technology. This tech has been used to host virtual spaces with up to 10,000 players and its platform “now processes over 350 million communication operations per second.”
M² is seemingly intended to play several roles in the metaverse. The first is something of a technological limitation that has plagued large games for a while. MMORPGs and even 100-player shooters have struggled with how to house a number of players all in one event without melting the GPUs of all the users and the experience generally being poor. A few games have managed this — Planetside 2 and Battlefields pre-2042, for example — but it’s difficult. Morpheus numbers listed above would dwarf even some of the leading games currently.
Improbable and their Morpheus technology helped test a massive virtual event using the game they had assisted in the creation of, Scavengers, as seen above. This shows an early solution to the age-old problem of many players or users in the same virtual space.
The second issue M² appears to be taking on is that of interoperability. That word has already become popular in blockchain gaming as cross-chain games become more prevalent and bridges are formed to join and grow ecosystems. If you’re not a metaverse maximalist — I’m not and I’m not sure many are — you expect there to be more than one metaverse. So, a company that can help join them in various ways could become very valuable indeed.
Many users have scoffed at virtual events for looking rather dated, often resembling early 3D games. This isn’t the creators of the event or game being cheap or careless, it’s simply a necessity at the moment if you’re looking to house a lot of users. It’s a problem few people are considering as the metaverse draws closer and it will be a technological gatekeeper to major digital events like concerts where you want thousands of attendees. Both Improbable and M² are worth keeping an eye on.
