Metaverse is the newest buzzword in tech. Any doubts about this being the case were dismissed when Facebook rebranded itself as Meta Platforms (Nasdaq: FB). Another company that is also preparing for this next-generation technology is Unity Software (Nasdaq: U) which has its own rendering and game development engine that developers use to build their own games.
Unity is also considered a leader in rendering 3D worlds, and the company is exploring applications that go beyond video gaming for areas such as education, training, military simulations, architectural designs, movie rendering, etc. So, it wasn't surprising that the company decided to acquire Peter Jackson's Weta Digital.
Peter Jackson is the famed director who has worked on blockbusters like Lord of the Rings, Avatar, and King Kong. Similar to George Lucas, he is also a tech founder due to building his own visual special effects and animation team that were necessary for his movies.
The deal for Weta Digital is for $1.6 billion and Unity will be acquiring its technology division which includes artist tools and engineering talent. The company's VFX and animation team will remain under Jackson's ownership.
Some of the technology that Unity will be acquiring include tools for facial animation, the ability to create virtual cityscapes, and other detailed visualization tools. These will be added to the Unity Engine and also be available as cloud-based subscription offerings.
This is part of Unity's plan to be involved in the next leap forward which is the metaverse - an immersive digital experience. The company is making sure that its engine will be able to render 3D models. In its blog post announcing the acquisition, the company said that Weta Digital's tools integrated into Unity will give "content creators easy to use and high-performance tools to bring their visions to life".
Unity is certainly a growth stock and has many positive attributes. Unlike some growth stocks which have struggled, Unity is at all-time highs. The stock is up nearly 100% since mid-July and 19% over the past week. This momentum is easy to understand given that Unity is one of the best stocks to take advantage of growth in the video game industry and now seems also one of the best stocks to play the metaverse.