The Metaverse Standards Forum has incorporated into an independent, non-profit industry consortium less than a year after its launch. The Forum was launched in June 2022 by Khronos Group to enable, foster, and promote cooperation over interoperability in the metaverse. Web3 entrepreneurs will be keen to watch the effects of the newly ratified consortium.

Metaverse Standards Forum incorporates

The Metaverse Standards Forum incorporation established a collection of metaverse industry participants with technical expertise who will guide the activities and challenges of interoperability in the metaverse. According to the announcement, the Forum will set guidelines around “privacy, cybersecurity, and identity,” as well as other interoperability-related aspects.

With the Metaverse Standards Forum’s incorporation as an independent non-profit consortium, changes in its membership structure are expected in the next few months. The organization accepts applications from members who can become so-called Participants or Principals, allowing interested parties to join immediately.

The Forum maintains a pipeline of member-driven sub-charters, known as Working Groups, to address interoperability challenges and opportunities across multiple domains that the Forum network has prioritized. According to the Forum’s announcement on its website, the initial Working Groups include the following: 

1. Metaverse Standards Register: A public database that maps out open standards and metaverse activities.

2. 3D Asset Interoperability: Enabling 3D asset files and images to be well–suited for web and mobile devices by removing data that is not necessary for assets to be displayed, thus cutting down on potentially sensitive data that could be compromised in the metaverse. 

3. Real/Virtual World Integrations: Examines interoperability for two fundamental parts of the metaverse:  

• Digital Twins: A communications channel linking a physical item with its digital copy. 

• Visual Positioning System: creates a custom map that identifies a location based on well-known landmarks.

4. Asset Management: Explores digital rights standards for the “identity, ownership, protection, transport, exchange, and monetization of [digital assets].”

These working groups operate under member-created charters that define pragmatic short-term projects focusing on interoperability requirements and testing results to assist member organizations in accelerating their goals. 

Interoperability is fundamental to the metaverse's existence, let alone success. Without the ability to take a user’s avatar, cryptocurrency, NFTs, or other digital assets from one world to another, the metaverse is just another web2 video game with web3 features. 

The Consortium’s mission

The Forum aims to enable the metaverse to scale beyond siloed games, experiences, and worlds to its fullest potential. According to Neil Travett, president of the Khronos Group and the Forum’s initial president, “The unprecedented level of participation in the Forum demonstrates strong industry interest in the broad cooperation necessary to bring that vision to life.”

Khronos Group, the Forum’s non-profit parent organization, was founded in 2000 to develop open standards for the graphics, media, and parallel computing industries. The organization’s involvement in these web2 industries positioned it as a prime candidate for standardizing metaverse operations among developers, vendors, and manufacturers. 

Forum membership

The Metaverse Standards Forum has grown to include various standards organizations and companies, industry consortia, platform vendors, hardware manufacturers, and end-user organizations. 

More than 2,400 members have registered with the Forum and multiple active exploratory groups. The Metaverse Standards Forum has organized its governance, finances, and operations to drive pragmatic interoperability, reduce dangers and theft, and protect the metaverse’s development and user base.

More information about becoming a member can be found here on the Forum’s website.