Tim Sweeney, the co-founder of the studio behind titles such as Hitman, Gears of War, and the wildly pop Fortnite said in a Tweet today that not-fungible token (NFT) tech and the 'metaverse' information technology one day may enable are "going places," but due to factors such as transactions costs and the "wild, speculative mess" that makes up much of crypto today, the dream of "a persistent, alive digital universe" might exist far off.

Sweeney made his comments in response to a blog titled "Into The Void: Where Crypto Meets The Metaverse." Written by blockchain consulting, inquiry and investment firm Delphi Digital partner Piers Kicks, "Into The Void" is a sprawling essay that dives into the history of digital connectivity and in-game economies, ultimately arguing that blockchain-based metaverses will non exist a simple improvement over previous virtual experiences, merely volition instead marker the offset of a new human epoch:

"In the coming decades, a new era of virtual existence will be ushered in marking our next groovy milestone as a networked species."

In a curt Tweet thread Sweeney praised the blog post and acknowledged that blockchain tech and NFTs are the "well-nigh plausible path" towards a fully emergent metaverse, but also indicated that these developments may be far off and that investors should be cautious with their money:

"It'southward immensely heady to see recognition of the potential of these technologies from Tim, who is undoubtedly the leading pioneer of change within the game manufacture and beyond," Kicks said in a statement to Cointelegraph. "[...] Nearly everything out at that place right at present is not yet ready to exist mainstream consumer facing. It's not but scalability that's a bottleneck, at that place are still major UX frictions across the board."

"It may well be largely speculative correct now, but for those willing to appoint it's a very exciting time as the market hunts for feasible, scalable business organisation and incentive models. Where mainstream perceptions of crypto are concerned, the tides do appear to be gradually irresolute," he added.

Speculation Swirls

Sweeney isn't the but big-proper name entrepreneur to dip their toes into NFTs in recent weeks. On Monday Mark Cuban released a run of x limited-edition NFT animations of himself dancing. All sold out within hours, and on-chain sleuths identified two wallets associated with Cuban that contained dozens of minor cryptocurrencies, every bit well as significant holdings in DeFi projects such as Aave and Sushiswap — all of which lent credence to Cuban'southward prior statement that he likes to "attempt this stuff out."

Before long after the drop, however, Cuban said in a tv interview NFT prices are "inflated" due to depression interest rates, indicating that his interest in NFTs might be purely exploratory.

Both Cuban and Sweeney have proficient reason to question the heaven-high valuations currently overtaking the space. Last weekend a rare CryptoPunk sold for 605 ETH, or over $750,000 at the time of the auction, and prominent collectors are being quoted on the evening news.

However, as is often the case in crypto development carries on chop-chop regardless of if at that place's a bubble or non, and a blockchain-enabled metaverse may be closer than even these founders and investors realize.