Earlier this year, FireFlare Games quietly announced they were creating the first virtual reality dating app, Planet Theta. It did not have the wall-to-wall news coverage that Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s announcement about his metaverse vision. If history is any guide, Planet Theta’s focus on VR dating may actually be the cheat code needed to mainstream, and thereby help realize, Zuckerberg’s Metaverse.

Many argue 1995 was the year that the internet became relevant. Netscape became the first popular internet browser in 1995. It was the year that eBay made its first sales. Craigslist was founded. 1995 was also the year that Match publicly released its open beta, making it the first internet dating website.

The allure of internet dating was the first compelling reason to use the internet for millions of people. When Match and a shortlist of others got involved, the internet was a space dedicated almost exclusively to fringe audiences. It was the beginning of mainstream markets entering the internet. Netscape was the first to make it easy to dial into the internet and access websites like Match, Craigslist, eBay and others. It was the growth of these websites that made it possible for the internet to evolve into what we have today.

Less than a generation later, the internet is dominated by commerce and social media interactions. In 2020 the Pew Research Center wrote that “online dating has evolved into a multibillion-dollar industry serving customers around the world.” These industries have become global economic titans. Amazon, Facebook, and Match built the modern internet by feeding the demand for shopping, social interactions and dating.

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Virtual reality headsets are mainly being used by gamers and to hang out in chat rooms that significantly resemble the Wild West bulletin boards from the early internet. Planet Theta is the first VR dating app. Its focus on dating will give millions of people around the world their first compelling reason to access the metaverse. The metaverse needs Planet Theta to succeed.

The internet is evolving into the metaverse and it will be driven by commerce, social interactions and dating. Dating on Planet Theta will create a unique demand to enter the metaverse. VR dating is an explosive market and Planet Theta is leading the way.