As I sat in a brunch spot recommended by a YouTuber I’ve followed for over a decade, I looked up and saw her. I know her cat’s name. I’ve seen her cry, celebrate, and grieve. She doesn’t know I exist.
Weird? A little. But also, completely normal.
Millions of people form real, enduring relationships with creators they’ve never met. These parasocial relationships are based on real trust and they form the infrastructure of every modern community. Now, this infrastructure is moving somewhere new.
In a fragmented online world, creators are anchors. They are taste-makers, curators, and companions. Audiences follow them across platforms, product lines and geographies. Now, they’re following them into virtual worlds and spaces.
A virtual world is a persistent, immersive, shared experience that offers something different for communities: presence. It’s the next logical extension of the creator<>audience relationship. Not just watching, but being in the same space, at the same time, together.
When a creator builds a world, on their own or with a brand they are able to extend their relationship with their audience. Whether it's a digital hangout, a game, or a persistent metaverse presence, it allows their fans to go from a comment on a youtube or tiktok video being called out to “standing” in the same room as them, having fun.
The virtual shift is already happening
We're already seeing this shift:
- Gaming streamers launching persistent multiplayer worlds where fans can join the action.
- Lifestyle creators hosting community events in virtual environments with custom merch and exclusive access.
- Brands partnering with influencers to co-create immersive shopping experiences.
What used to be a “collab post” is becoming a co-created world. This isn’t just novelty, it’s here to stay. Virtual spaces give creators permanence, control, and deeper connection. They allow audiences to step into a creator’s universe and stay awhile. And for brands, it offers more than reach, it offers resonance.
Why it works: Trust and Presence
We don’t follow creators just because they entertain us. We follow them because a trusted voice is everything and for many people they have followed a creator(s) for decades.
“No, you don’t know them. But you trust them.” Sprout Social
That trust gets supercharged in a shared space. When a fan can enter a world, run into other fans, see how the creator has designed it, and participate in real time
- The influencer marketing industry is booming—as of 2025 it’s valued at $32.55 billion, up from $24 billion in 2024, with nearly 36% year-over-year growth (influencermarketinghub.com).
- The virtual influencer market (avatar-based personalities) hit approximately $6 billion in 2024, projected to grow to $45–155 billion by 2030, depending on sources, at ~40–41% CAGR (Grand View Research).
- A 2025 survey found that 57% of 14–44‑year-olds watched at least one VTuber or virtual influencer in the past year, and VTuber videos have averaged over 50 billion views annually since 2022 (en.wikipedia.org).
The Infrastructure that makes it possible
So what does it take to actually build this kind of space?
You need:
- Environments that can scale to thousands of simultaneous users without lag or loss.
- Creator-friendly tooling that allows for fast customization, asset import, and scene design.
- Interoperable systems that let creators use assets, avatars, and communities across platforms.
- Trust and compliance layers to moderate content, verify ownership, and ensure safe interactions.
Powered by MSquared
MSquared is building the infrastructure that empowers brands and creators to design, control, and scale their presence across immersive digital worlds.
Morpheus delivers the real-time multiplayer infrastructure needed to host massive virtual gatherings. Think, community events, games, Q&As, product launches, or casual hangouts. All delivered at scale, across devices, in persistent 3D spaces.
Create stunning virtual worlds with the visual fidelity of Unreal Engine 5. Morpheus Platform integrates seamlessly into the tools you already know to accelerate building your metaverse.
Web worlds provide you with an instantly accessible, intimate world that you can customise and Avatars allow communities to show more of their personality when connecting with their favourite creator and their wider community. You can play around with both these tools on the MSquared website.
If you need a helping hand from both a technical and non-technical standpoint, the MSquared team and partners can help you create and deploy your world with ease.
If you’re a brand, start thinking in terms of presence and deep engagement over views. The creators you partner with don’t just have followers, they have loyal communities built over decades. You can tap into that in an authentic way, by helping them connect on a deeper level with their community.
The future of community is immersive, persistent, and creator-led.
