Meta to ‘co-create experiences’ with NBCU’s Dreamworks, Blumhouse & more

A year ago, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg used his annual Connect event to rename Facebook as Meta and go all-in on the metaverse. Since then, the wider entertainment industry has spent many hours debating what the metaverse really is, when it will arrive and what it all means for gamers and content creators.

Vishal Shah

Roll forward a year and the focus at Connect 2022 was less about entertainment and more about the practical applications of VR. Unveiling a new high-end VR headset called the Meta Quest Pro, the emphasis appeared to be more on working in VR. One highlight was the news that Meta is partnering with Microsoft to introduce workplace tools to VR. “There’s an opportunity for a VR headset designed from the ground up to be great for work, as well as playing games and hanging out,” Zuckerberg said. Other use cases for VR/metaverse include fitness-related products, he added.

That said, Meta also used the Connect event to announce a multi-year partnership with NBCUniversal. “Starting next year, Meta and NBCU will co-create experiences around The Office, Universal Monsters, DreamWorks, Blumhouse, Halloween Horror Nights and so much more,” said Vishal Shah, Meta’s VP of Metaverse. There’s no real clarity on what these co-created experiences will look like in practice, but the deal is a strong indicator that Hollywood studios see the metaverse as a destination for its IP.

A further indication of the blurring boundaries between VR, social and video was the announcement at Connect that it is now possible to take videos in Horizon.