Pokémon Go creator thinks metaverse needs to keep it ‘real’

Hanke isn’t a fan of the current hyperbole surrounding the notion that technology is poised to hatch a ‘metaverse’. He instead is hoping to build technology that meshes with the physical world – an approach known as ‘augmented reality’, or AR. That’s what Niantic Labs has already done with Pokemon Go. — Photo by Jakayla Toney on Unsplash

SAN RAMON, California: Niantic Labs CEO John Hanke has been working on technology that helps people navigate and enjoy places in the real world since he helped create Google Maps nearly 20 years ago.

So it’s not surprising that he isn’t a fan of the current hyperbole surrounding the notion that technology is poised to hatch a “metaverse” – a three-dimensional simulation of the actual world populated by digital avatars of ourselves gathering with friends, family and colleagues to play, work and experience other aspects of an artificial life so compelling that it feels real.