The Metaverse Standards Forum Transitions to Independent Non-Profit Consortium

The Metaverse Standards Forum Transitions to Independent Non-Profit Consortium

The Metaverse Standards Forum has recently announced its official incorporation as an independent non-profit industry consortium. This development follows a nine-month incubation period under the guidance of the Khronos Group. The forum’s core mission remains unchanged: to facilitate, foster, and promote cooperation and coordination among standards organizations, companies, and universities regarding metaverse-related interoperability.

Initially launched and driven by the Khronos Group in June 2022, the Metaverse Standards Forum has experienced remarkable growth, attracting over 2,400 members. It now operates with its own governance, finances, and operations, enabling it to further its objectives effectively.

While the working group activities continue to be accessible to all members, the forum has introduced new paid membership tiers that allow members to be elected to leadership roles and contribute to funding forum projects.

Neil Trevett, president of the Khronos Group and the forum’s initial president, emphasized the pivotal role of interoperability in unlocking the full potential of the metaverse beyond isolated games, experiences, and worlds. The significant industry interest and participation in the forum reflect the collective commitment to realizing this vision by fostering collaboration, consensus-building, and broader visibility for metaverse interoperability efforts. Trevett extended an invitation to all interested organizations to participate in this fully independent forum.

With its inception involving 37 founding members, the Metaverse Standards Forum has grown to include a diverse range of participants, such as standards organizations, companies, industry consortia, platform vendors, hardware manufacturers, and end-user organizations.

To address metaverse interoperability challenges and opportunities across various domains, the forum maintains a pipeline of member-driven exploratory and working groups. Notably, participation in the forum does not create patent licensing obligations, and all deliverables are freely and publicly distributed, ensuring transparency and openness.

Forum working groups operate based on charters created by members, defining short-term projects that prioritize generating interoperability requirements and testing results to accelerate member organizations’ goals.

Furthermore, several exploratory groups within the forum are currently developing consensus on charters for upcoming working groups, covering areas such as 3D web interoperability, interoperable avatars and characters, digital fashion and wearables, metaverse network requirements, end-user troubleshooting, and metaverse privacy, cybersecurity, and identity.

Any forum member has the opportunity to propose, participate in, or take a leadership role in a domain working group.

As the Metaverse Standards Forum transitions into an independent non-profit organization, its membership structure will evolve in the coming months. Interested parties can immediately join as participant or principal members, while existing members will receive continued membership privileges during a transitional period.

Principal members play a significant leadership role within the forum, enjoying priority marketing and networking privileges, and are eligible for election to the forum’s board of directors. Principal membership dues have been thoughtfully structured to encourage participation from organizations of all sizes and types.