--- title: "Facebook Exec Says Metaverse Will Let you Betray Your Friends in VR" description: "Connect 2022 POV: There's a slight chill in the air, the leaves are changing, and you might just be wearing corduroy. You know what that means? Facebook-turned-Meta's Connect conference is in the air. And boy, was Connect 2022's prerecorded keynote presentation video a doozy. The hour-and-a-half long clip was jam-packed with... well, a lot. There […]" date: "2022-10-11" modified: "2022-10-11" authors: - name: "Maggie Harrison Dupré" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/mharrison" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/facebook-metaverse-betray-friends-vr" categories: - "Future Society" - "Metaverse" - "Virtual Reality" tags: - "mark zuckerberg" - "metaverse" - "the digest" - "virtual reality" --- # Facebook Exec Says Metaverse Will Let you Betray Your Friends in VR ![One revelation from Facebook-slash-Meta's Connect? Soon, the metaverse will be a space where we can betray those closest to us. Hell yeah.]() *Facebook Chairman and CEO Mark Zuckerberg testifies before the House Financial Services Committee on "An Examination of Facebook and Its Impact on the Financial Services and Housing Sectors" in the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington, DC on October 23, 2019. (Photo by MANDEL NGAN / AFP) (Photo by MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images) \Image: Getty Images\* ## Connect 2022 POV: There's a slight chill in the air, the leaves are changing, and you might just be wearing corduroy. You know what that means? Facebook-turned-Meta's Connect conference is here. And boy, was [Connect 2022's prerecorded keynote presentation video]() a doozy. The hour-and-a-half long clip was jam-packed with... well, a lot. There was a [product reveal](). There were [finally legs](), but only for executive avatars. There was — and we cannot stress this enough — more nodding blankly at a camera than we've probably ever seen in a single video. One particularly striking revelation, though? The promise that soon, the metaverse might be a space where we can all betray those closest to us. Finally! "Calling all crewmates," said Meta's Developer Relations chief Melissa Brown, as she announced that the VR version of the beloved online game "Among Us" is officially open for pre-order through the Meta Quest Store. "Soon, you'll be betraying friends from a first-person perspective." ## Betrayal and Deceit "Among Us" developer Innersloth [confirmed the announcement](), promising that, for the purists out there, the VR version will still have "all of the same betrayal and deceit as the original game." Which checks out as a metaverse selling point, given Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg's own [history of the same](). That was the entire plot of "The Social Network," after all. If you're intrigued by the "Among Us" move, we promise: there's a lot more where that came from. Of course, that's not terribly surprising — Facebook loves a Just Buy It strategy, but it's [becoming clear]() that it can't purchase its way to metaverse dominance. Fear not for Zuck, though, as his apparent workaround is to join forces with every demographic-grabbing collaborator under the Sun, from *NBC'*s Peacock (where the elders get their [beloved soaps]()) to Microsoft and Zoom (where so much of work life already exists) to, as "Among Us" exemplifies, iconic games. That being said, does a VR version of "Among Us" — let alone any of the other collaborations revealed — really *need* to exist? Not really, especially considering that most of the tech goals featured in the video [haven't actually been met]() in a meaningful way. But Zuck's made a big bet, and in getting as many new mates on the meta ship as possible, he might be able to force it to float. Or, at the very least, he'll be going down in good company. **More on Connect 2022:** *[Meta's Uber-expensive New VR Headset Is Dead on Arrival]()* ## Author At Futurism, I've reported extensively on the rise of AI as a cultural and business force shaping the media industry, and more broadly how those dynamics are changing how we all consume and share information and relate to one another. I'm also fascinated by public health policy and ethics, the role of emerging tech in politics and governance — and the powerful people and forces at those intersections — climate change, and the environment. My investigation on Sports Illustrated's use of AI-generated authors with fictional biographies won a 2024 Mirror Award for "Best Story on Media Coverage of Artificial Intelligence in Journalism and the Media" from Syracuse University's SI Newhouse School, I contributed to Niemen Lab's 2025 Predictions for Journalism series, and I've discussed my work for Futurism during appearances on NPR, CNN, the BBC, the CBC, and more. I grew up in rural Pennsylvania and attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where I played Division I field hockey for the Minutewomen as a midfielder. Since then, I've lived in New Orleans, Louisiana and Manhattan, New York. I spend my free time running, reading, perusing archival fashion, and searching for the world’s best negroni. I also have a debonair tuxedo cat, Westley, who's named after "The Princess Bride." ### Author social links [Bluesky]()