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Comment by bredren | Hacker News Reader

Despite how loathed Facebook is, if an Alphabet-like parent company launches a metaverse that _does not_ integrate with the social graph / is not monetized through advertising, it has a real shot.

I have felt FB has needed to offer a privacy focused social network for some time. Apple is quietly proving people are willing to pay for privacy-enabled social features.

My question is whether they will collaborate with Epic / Fortnite on this. I suspect they will need to in order to take on whatever ends up dominating the App Store Apple's eventual hardware platform.

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> that _does not_ integrate with the social graph / is not monetized through advertising, it has a real shot.

They're doing it *so that* it integrates with social graph AND is another advertising channel.

Facebook is going to buy Epic Games, mark my words. It would be north of a $60B acquisition even if they purchase them at twice their current valuation. It would be poetic justice because Epic and FB both have a common enemy - Apple.

Facebook does not have a game engine and it is not currently a 3D-first company, and it makes sense that it will need one to underpin all of the content that will need to be made for the metaverse, by creators.

Their other two options are to buy Unity, Roblox, or make their own game engine. Or perhaps fork some of the work that's being done over for the Open3D engine?

I don’t know how the m&a works on that deal, but from a product perspective, I think Facebook needs the users and the youngs among them.

Facebook will never be successful onboarding FB users, their graphs and the whole messed up biz model into something of their own.

Epic has the upper hand. I think that company could continue without FB but see no evidence FB or rather Facebook’s new parent company, can build out a metaverse product with brain worm as successful as Fortnite.

Even if FB had churned out successful original gaming ideas it would be a long shot. Fortnite has crushed that hard.

I tried but I can't be serious about this news. Th company must name : Epic Face :)))))

Facepic?

I find it difficult to believe Sweeney will give up Epic's ownership

Anti-competitive laws will probably shoot this down immediately

Roblox might be appropriate for their ambitions too.

Facebook could have been Epic Games if they didn't blow up their platform.

From 2013: https://andrewchen.com/why-developers-are-leaving-the-facebo...

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