Snap might not be particularly interested – at least, not as articulated by Mark Zuckerberg – but the company’s latest experiment certainly sounds a lot like a version of one. The company is teaming up with Universal to host a virtual show featuring Jennifer Lopez and Colombian pop singer Maluma, which viewers can watch as their Bitmoji avatars.
The show itself will not take place on the Snapchat app, but potential viewers can access the show by logging into the show. with Snapchat login. Users’ Bitmoji avatars will appear as spectators in the crowd. There are also a handful of interactive effects that will be available during the show, including the ability to start “the wave” and trigger a virtual laser effect. Lopez and Maluma will also appear as 3D Bitmoji avatars.
The event, scheduled for February 3, aims to promote the next rom-com marry me (also starring Lopez and Maluma), and should last around 10 minutes, according to the company.
Virtual concerts became one of the first examples of an experience. from Fortnite in-game are often referenced in discussions of what an eventual metaverse will look like. And Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney said he wants the Fortnite editor to be in space. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg also concerts in the metaverse, writing last year that in the future people will be able to “instantly teleport like a hologram” to attend concerts.
But Snap executives talked about the metaverse very differently. Snap AR executive Sophia Dominguez said in December that the company’s vision for the future is not to “escape to another world”, but to create experiences that can unite physical and virtual spaces. (Snap CEO Evan Spiegel put it a little differently, last fall about the dystopian origins of the word metaverse. “I think the basic notion was that you know the physical world was kind of falling apart in this dystopian future that people would escape into this virtual world – that’s not a focus for us,” he said, referring to Neal Stephenson’s work. . Snow Accident.)
What’s less clear is whether Snap intends the Bitmoji-led shows to be a regular occurrence like Fortnite has (live streaming platform is powering the technology behind the show). But if the company’s first major foray into adjacent metaverse experiences is a success, it’s not hard to imagine Snap could host more Bitmoji-led live events.
All products recommended by Ploonge are selected by our editorial team, independent of our parent company. Some of our stories include affiliate links. If you buy something through one of these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.