Epic Games Hires Ex-Facebook Leader to Figure Out the Metaverse

Epic Games has secured Matthew Henick, Facebook's former VP of Content, to oversee its metaverse efforts, according to a report by The Information.

At Epic, Henick will reportedly be tasked with figuring out the policy and economics of the metaverse, a series of personal and shared virtual spaces where users can engage with each other and content using virtual reality and augmented reality (VR and AR).

The metaverse is the next chapter for Facebook, and was front and center at the company’s keynote at Facebook Connect. Facebook is an early mover in the metaverse and will likely be a central figure in shaping the future of the technology’s hardware, like AR and VR headsets, and software, like its Horizon social platform.

Onboarding Henick as the exec in charge of Epic’s charge into the metaverse gives the company an inside line on Facebook’s thinking, allowing Epic to better shape its projects and products.