Ever since Mark Zuckerberg’s keynote address during Connect in 2021, the word “metaverse” has proliferated exponentially among the tech community. That drive towards this new vision is now taking over other areas of Meta’s annual programming, namely seeing the cancellation of its F8 developer conference this year.
F8 hasn’t taken place over the last couple of years due to the pandemic but this year it’s because due to building the metaverse a company blog post has revealed. Diego Duarte Moreira, Director of Developer & Startup Programs at Facebook said: “we are taking a brief break in programming and will not hold F8 in 2022 while we gear up on new initiatives that are all tailored towards the next chapter of the internet…building the metaverse.”
So while F8 has currently succumbed to Meta’s plans to build this metaverse vision, plenty of other events are still on the company’s 2022 calendar. First up is the Meta Quest Gaming Showcase which was announced last week. That’s due to take place later this month featuring: “new game announcements, gameplay first-looks, and updates.”
Then there’s Meta’s new business messaging event Conversations which takes place on 19th May. This is designed for “businesses, developers and partners interested in building better and faster experiences” on messaging platforms.
Connect, it seems, is going to be Meta’s major annual event, for the time being, focused on the metaverse, XR, and all of its latest tech offerings. Taking place towards the end of the year – October in 2021 – this year’s Connect is expected to showcase Project Cambria, Meta’s high-end standalone device.
As Meta reveals further details regarding its upcoming events, gmw3 will keep you updated.