Which Programming Languages Are Being Used To Code The Metaverse?

We are all victims of major technological advancements brought to us in the 21st century. The era of the Internet changed our lives completely, and as a result, we are moving to a new and completely different kind of virtual reality. One of the latest announcements that clearly shapes the future of the virtual world was the one of Mark Zuckerberg (CEO of Facebook – now Meta) and his announcement of the metaverse.

What is the metaverse and why is it important?

For all of you who don’t know, the metaverse is in many ways the future of the internet. Experts say that we are now thinking about it in the way people thought of the Internet back in the 1970s – the technology is in the process of being built and people are still clueless about it.

What we know, so far, is that the metaverse was presented by Zuckerberg as a deeper form of virtual reality with new ways of communication, work, and trading goods as we know it. 

The best way to define the metaverse is as a virtual world where users can create, buy and sell goods, as well as take goods such as cars and clothes from one platform to another. The metaverse will be powered by avatars, inventories, and virtual identities, presenting a new form of the Internet as we know it. 

Users who create content and digital products will embrace the new form of the digital economy by making use of NFTs (non-fungible tokens) that will protect their ownership of their digital assets until they are sold. Secure ownership of things of value is why migrating to blockchain has become such a popular concept nowadays. So, for those who produce user-generated content (UGC), the metaverse holds lots of promise.

For others, the pure aspect of a virtual world is a challenge worth participating in.

What does the metaverse mean for developers and programmers?

One of the most interesting aspects of the metaverse right now is its creation. Knowing that this virtual world allows for a bigger talent pool of people, there is a clear need for more programmers and developers. Developers programming smart contracts have unique difficulties, but as the scope of these projects expands, things will change. The goal is to bring together a group of professionals skilled in a combination of coding languages and development tools called Software Development Kits (SDKs) to create digital products and new experiences. 

In a nutshell, developing a metaverse application is somehow similar to developing a game, app, or similar “experience” for any number of different SaaS platforms. That is what we know so far, just like we know that the Metaverse will use anything from VR systems like the Oculus Quest and HTC Vive, as well as virtual worlds like Roblox and Fortnite, up to gaming consoles like the PlayStation and Xbox. 

Essentially, this means that the metaverse is in its development stage. While we wait for it to emerge over the coming years, we can hint at some of the potential tools and programming languages that will likely be used in it.

Programming languages suitable for developing the metaverse

As we mentioned above, the metaverse is indefinite and as such, will be in constant need of experts skilled in programming. Facebook, Microsoft, Apple, and Snap are some of the largest companies that are already on the lookout for engineers that would help them build their desired virtual worlds in the metaverse and align with their project roadmap. From what we know so far, here are some of the most popular programming languages that will help build the metaverse.

C#

Originally designed by a Microsoft architect named Anders Hejlsberg, C# has been the main programming language for the Unity game engine since 2005. The platform (Unity) is coincidentally one of the most popular ways for building virtual reality applications, with more than 750,000 developers. There are plenty of resources to tap into, and C# is expected to be popular for the creation of similar virtual realities in the metaverse.

C++

If you are a developer, you probably know C++ as a programming language that is fairly standard for games, and one for which software developers are well compensated. Many see it as the more powerful and faster variation of C#, but it’s no secret that both are used interchangeably. In fact, most of the job descriptions in the metaverse for C++ developers also require knowledge in C# (and vice versa). Knowledge of either Unity or Unreal is also required – according to Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney, there are more than 7,500,000 developers in the world who use Unreal.

JavaScript

Known as “the language of the Internet,” JavaScript is a complex but relatively easy-to-learn web development programming language. Its prominence in Web2 and Web3 technologies has made it a standard in many industries. One of them is the blockchain – it allows building on JavaScript and as such, integrates with many web browsers. Because of its universal character, JavaScript is utilized with both WebVR and WebAR applications. That is why many developers are mastering JS as a go-to foundational language that will certainly be required in the metaverse.

Python

Python’s development process is quite open and transparent. There is an open-source codebase as well, plus a variety of third-party modules. All of this makes it the perfect language to learn if you are into scripting and interfaces for the metaverse. Companies that have already shown interest in Python developers for virtual realities include Oculus and Stageverse – plus, it is important to mention that most VR and AR applications use Python as standard.

Solidity

Solidity is a relatively newer programming language that was developed and released by Ethereum (the popular blockchain). By definition, it is an object-oriented language used to write and implement smart contracts in the ETH blockchain. If you’ve ever bought or sold an NFT, it was most probably created using Solidity.

Rust

What Solidity is on the Ethereum blockchain, is Rust on the Solana blockchain. Simply put, Solana is another increasingly popular blockchain that uses Rust for its programs. It is particularly popular. Many experts have classified Rust as one of the most emerging languages used for creating projects in the NFT space.

Final words

We’ve been living in a two-dimensional (2D) digital space for so long, and the metaverse will likely change that, moving us to a new three-dimensional (3D) digital experience. A change like this is beyond exciting, especially as it arrives at times when we got used to the work-from-home changes and virtual collaboration caused by the pandemic. 

While the idea of the metaverse has been around there for years, the technologies were not mature enough to support it. The new millennium is definitely the right time for a change, and the advancements such as 5G Internet, larger data storage, better computing, and AR/VR/XR devices can all support the new virtual world.