South Korea's car giant Hyundai has dived deeper into the Metaverse, according to a recent tweet posted by trademark attorney Mike Kondoudis.
According to its recent trademark application, the company plans to issue non-fungible tokens and publish NFT-related media content.
The company also plans to issue its own virtual fashion products such as clothing, footwear, sports gear, headgear, eyewear, sports equipment, works of art, pictures and toys for virtual reality and simulations.
Virtual avatar and car images are also included in Hyundai's latest patent filing, together with downloadable image files featuring virtual cars for virtual reality.
This is not Hyundai's first foray into the NFT industry. In April, it joined other global automakers, including Mercedes-Benz, by issuing its own NFTs, but it went a step further than its competitors by creating a community-based collection.
Alex DovbnyaAs reported by U.Today, multiple major brands, such as U.S. giant Chevron, have recently jumped into the Metaverse race. Meanwhile, Metaverse-related jobs listings have spiked roughly 380% since October.
The nascent industry niche, however, might be in the middle of an identity crisis. Last month, Ethereum's Vitalik Buterin said that there was no coherent definition of the Metaverse since one of the hottest buzzwords does not actually refer to any specific technology. Instead, it seemingly combines virtual reality, big data and augmented reality.
In late May, Marc Petit, Epic Games' VP and general manager of Unreal Engine, opined that people had already lost interest in the Metaverse.
Arman Shirinyan
Dan Burgin
U.Today Editorial Team
Vladislav Sopov