The metaverse is a loose name for shared, always-on 3D worlds where people meet, play and trade as avatars. No single, connected metaverse exists. For brands the word now mostly means a world, event or item inside platforms players already use, chiefly Roblox and Fortnite, rather than a headset.
How it works
You open an app on a phone, console, PC or headset, pick an avatar and enter a world through search, a code or a portal. Other people are there at the same time. You play, chat and earn items to wear, and the world keeps running after you leave.
The strict meaning is further off. Matthew Ball, author of The Metaverse, defines it as "a massively scaled and interoperable network of real-time rendered 3D virtual worlds" (Matthew Ball). Today's platforms run on their own technology, so an avatar or item rarely travels between them; the Metaverse Standards Forum, launched in June 2022, coordinates work on interoperability standards.
The word comes from Neal Stephenson's 1992 novel Snow Crash, and Second Life, launched in 2003, is often called the first metaverse (Wikipedia). Facebook renamed itself Meta on 28 October 2021, in an announcement built around the metaverse (Meta).
Where brands use it
Data platform GEEIQ tracked 1,011 brand activations in virtual worlds in 2025, down from 1,220 in 2024; Roblox hosted 65% of them and Fortnite 23% (Net Influencer). Fashion and beauty houses build places to dress up. Restaurants tie play to real orders: McDonald's LAND, a Roblox world for Latin America, reported 37,000+ orders of its tie-in menu and a 55% rise in sales through the McDonald's app, according to developer DeuSens. Sport, music and film run events around a date.
The idea is older than the word: in McWorld, a browser world (2008–2014), Happy Meal toy codes added avatar items. Browse brands inside other games, our 79 Roblox, Fortnite and Minecraft games, or read about brands on Roblox and in Fortnite.
When it fits
Pick a world when your audience already spends time there. Roblox reported 123 million daily active users in the second quarter of 2026 (Roblox). Chobani chose Roblox over Horizon Worlds, Decentraland and Animal Crossing for its oat milk launch because its Gen Z and Gen Y gamers were already there (Cosmic Race).
It suits products people can wear on an avatar, and two kinds of plan. One is a home kept alive for years: Givenchy opened its Roblox manor in June 2022 and has re-dressed it by season since. The other is a short event around a date, like Verizon's Super Bowl stadium in Fortnite. Rules and costs differ by platform, so read Roblox experience and UEFN before you brief.
When not to use it
Don't brief "the metaverse". Name the platform, audience and run: each world has its own players and rules.
Skip headset-first plans when reach matters. In March 2026 Meta said it would take Horizon Worlds off Quest headsets and focus on phones, then reversed course and kept limited VR support (Euronews). Blockchain worlds are small too: The Sandbox counted over 580,000 unique players across its ten-week Alpha Season 4 in 2024 (Blockchain Gamer), against Roblox's 123 million a day.
Skip an owned world nobody will keep fed. Claire's ShimmerVille fell from 290,000 monthly visits in February 2023 to 67,000 that August and closed in 2024. An in-game event borrows a crowd already there. For sign-ups, a web game you own works better; for under-13s, check COPPA with counsel.
Examples from the library
Beauty House — Givenchy (2022)
Agency: Like Fire and Collectif Exhibition (concept), The Gang (development), per Exhibition · Platform: Roblox
Players arrive in the gardens of a 16th-century manor and roam between a dancefloor built around the Irresistible fragrance, the L'Interdit metro station, a makeup gazebo, a runway, a pool and a photo booth. Quests such as finding hidden logos or walking the runway three times drop free Givenchy accessories into the avatar's inventory. In a beauty contest players make up their avatar, walk the catwalk and vote, and the top three take the podium.
Result: 18.2 million lifetime visits and 51,380 favourites on its Roblox page as of September 2026, with the Le Rouge cross-body bag reward claimed nearly 2.9 million times. Cosmetics Business had reported more than 10.7 million visitors by December 2023.
5G Stadium — Verizon (2021)
Agency: Momentum Worldwide, R/GA · Platform: Fortnite Creative
With pandemic limits on Super Bowl LV crowds, Verizon rebuilt Raymond James Stadium in Fortnite. Players walked through locker rooms and suites to a field with waterfalls in the stands, a beach on the sideline and a pirate ship over midfield, then warped into five versions of the stadium, each with its own mini-game, from a hoverboard race to a tag-style chase. NFL players and streamers played on the map during Super Bowl week.
Result: 40 million players saw the stadium in game, more than 2 million watched on Twitch and 1.5 million played its games, according to the One Show entry. From 1 to 9 February 2021 the stadium was the official hub of Fortnite Creative (the Webby entry says Verizon was the first brand Epic featured there), so those 1.5 million players are the closer measure of interest. The island has since been taken down.
Chupa Chups City — Chupa Chups (2024)
Agency: The Sandbox · Platform: The Sandbox (Windows, macOS)
Players load into a candy-coloured voxel town and work through 30 quests: collecting flavours, playing tunes on giant Melody Pops whistles, breaking piñatas and teaming up with other avatars to help residents throw a street party. Finishing the season's quest earns wearable Flavor Shades that add to the avatar's defence. The world opens only during The Sandbox's seasons; it launched in Alpha Season 4 in November 2024 and returned for Season 5 from 31 March 2025.
FAQ
Is the metaverse the same as VR?
No. A headset is one way in, not a requirement. Meta's own explainer says the metaverse can be reached from phones and computers as well as VR devices (Meta). Fortnite islands run on Switch, Xbox, PlayStation, Android, iOS and PC (Epic), and The Sandbox on Windows and macOS.
How much has Meta lost on the metaverse?
Meta reports no metaverse line. Reality Labs, its segment for virtual and augmented reality hardware, software and content, lost $19.2 billion in 2025 (Meta) and $8.6 billion in the first half of 2026 (Meta). Adding up the yearly losses in Meta's results since 2020 (2021, 2023, 2025) gives about $92 billion to June 2026, by our count.
Is the metaverse still going?
The hype faded; the worlds did not. Meta has moved Horizon Worlds towards phones, where it says the audience is bigger (Euronews), and GEEIQ counted 17% fewer brand activations in virtual worlds in 2025. Yet Roblox reported 123 million daily users in mid-2026, and brands still launched 252 owned worlds and 335 integrations in existing games in 2025 (Net Influencer).