By Elizabeth Culliford

(Reuters) – Facebook (NASDAQ:), changed its last name to Meta Platforms Inc (last week) to reflect its new focus on its metaverse. It believes that it will replace the mobile internet.

A metaverse is a concept that allows people to access a common virtual platform through multiple devices. They can also move between digital environments.

Before Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s CEO and soaring demos of giant robots and digital travels to Ancient Rome were made public, many companies had been developing the hardware and software that would be needed for “Ready Player One”.

Although the idea is still more than a decade off from becoming fully realized, it will be possible to collaborate with tech titans. Roundhill Investments, an investment company created an exchange-traded fund (ETF), in June to profit and track the efforts of metaverse enablers. A metaverse ETF was launched by another firm hours after Facebook announced its new branding.

These are just a few companies that play a part in the role.

ROBLOX

Roblox Corporation is a video game platform that went public in 2012. It envisions the metaverse to be a place “where people can come together within million of 3D experiences, learn, work and play, create, socialize, and so forth.”

Roblox offers developers and users the ability to make digital worlds. Roblox’s CEO spoke out about possible future business and shopping, as well as the Robux currency.

MICROSOFT

Microsoft Corp Satya Nadella, CEO of (NASDAQ:), stated this year in earnings calls that the company is working on an “enterprise megaverse”, where the physical and digital worlds merge in order to offer new products.

Microsoft is a major player in the game industry, having both Xbox and Minecraft. Phil Spencer, Xbox’s boss has spoken out about plans for a “metaverse” or mixed-reality construct.

FACEBOOK

Facebook will trade as Meta Platforms starting Dec 1. It has stated that it prefers to be referred to as a metaverse business rather than as a social media company. Facebook, with over 3 billion users worldwide, has invested heavily in virtual and augmented reality. It has also been developing Horizon VR, accessible through Quest headsets.

NVIDIA

Nvidia Corporation (NASDAQ:) is a computer chip manufacturer. It developed its Omniverse platform to connect 3D worlds in a shared virtual universe. Omniverse can be used to create simulations of factories or buildings in real life.

UNITY

Unity Software Inc is a company that develops video game design software. It could also sell technology or tools to create the metaverse.

SNAP

Snapchat user Snap Inc (NYSE) is a long-standing company that has developed custom avatars as well as augmented reality filters for overlaying digital features onto the real world. The company unveiled the first true augmented reality glasses this year, which are now available to developers for them to create experiences.

AUTODESK

Autodesk, a cloud software company (NASDAQ:), makes tools that architects and engineers can use to create and design buildings and other products. You can use its software to create virtual worlds for gaming or entertainment.

TENCENT

Tencent Holdings Ltd, a Chinese tech company that is owned by Tencent Holdings Ltd (OTC) Ltd, the largest gaming revenue-generating firm in the world. It also holds stakes in large game companies like Epic Games (NASDAQ:). The South China Morning Post has reported that Tencent had registered many metaverse-related trademarks on QQ.

EPIC GAMES

Epic Games is behind Fortnite’s video game sensation. The company also makes social experiences such as virtual music concerts, dance parties, and other gaming-related activities. You can pay for avatars to be dressed in various costumes, and you have the option of creating your own islands or games. Epic has a huge gaming engine called Unreal that is used for creating games as well as visual effects such TV backdrops.

Epic CEO Tim Sweney is a vocal critic for big platforms such as Alphabet (NASDAQ) Inc and Apple Inc (NASDAQ) Inc. He has argued that the metaverse must be a participative, shared space.

AMAZON

Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:), an ecommerce company that is the biggest cloud-services vendor in the world, has many media products and is considered a possible player in metaverse.