Metaverse in Gaming Market By Software (VR Metaverse Games, Gaming Engine); By Hardware (3D Headset, Metaverse Wearables, Gaming Console); By Technology (AR & VR, Mixed Reality, Blockchain (NFTs & Cryptocurrency), Others); By Age Group (11 to 19 years, 20 to 35 years, Above 35 Years); By Geography, Size, Share, Segment Revenue Estimation, Forecast, 2021-2030.

Industry Report and Statistics (Facts & Figures) - Industrial vs Gaming vs Government, Number of Users, Avatars, Investment Opportunities, Software & Hardware Installations & Demand by Platform, Components, Offerings & Application

 

The global metaverse in gaming market will witness a robust CAGR of 37.85%, valued at $36.93 Billion in 2021, and expected to appreciate and reach $70.17 Billion in 2023 and $663.8 Bn by 2030, confirms Strategic Market Research.

 

The Metaverse is a platform that combines social media, online gaming, virtual reality, augmented reality, and cryptocurrency to enable people to interact digitally worldwide. The Metaverse has drawn large investments from V.C.s, tech behemoths, and a plethora of gaming businesses. The Metaverse is most often driven by persistence. In other words, it is still accessible after a player has completed utilizing the gaming platform for an entire session. The virtual environment it provides for the digital recreation of our real-world excites gamers as well. On metaverse platforms, players often run upon things that are remarkably realistic-looking. They can interact with virtual things using haptic gloves and jackets, communicate with the other players, and trade virtual commodities as well.

 

One of the first businesses to consciously attempt to create an Ethereum-based metaverse platform for multiplayer gaming is Decentraland, where a virtual space can be created, owned, and governed during the time of play. On the other hand, Epic Games is known primarily for its Fortnite, a completely V.R. (virtual reality) based gaming platform consisting of a variety of events (such as 'The Rocket Launch,' 'The Floating Island,' 'The Ice storm,' etc.) integrated into one. As per SMR, it was figured out that globally, around 171 million gamers utilize V.R. (virtual reality) platforms & the V.R. gaming market is worth $12.13 billion in 2022. Also, it has been reported by SMR that around 23% of VR/AR users worldwide fall between the age brackets of 25 to 34.

 

Moreover, apart from playing various games on virtual platforms, Metaverse in gaming provides a way for its users to earn a hefty sum of money online. There are innumerable Metaverse platforms launched by different gaming giants that pay a huge sum of money in NFTs. For example, over the past few years, Axis Infinity (a token-based, non-fungible, online video game that uses Ethereum-based cryptocurrencies) became a major income source for gamers. It's an RPG (Role Playing Game) that allows NFT trading on its platform, while the other ones are Splinterlands, Alien Worlds, Farmers World, etc. Here, the players have various profitable options rather than adhering to strict gaming rules and linear storytelling.

All of the aforesaid pointers are expected to fuel the market growth significantly during the forecasted time frame of 2022 to 2030.

Dynamics of the Global Metaverse in Gaming Market:

Drivers: (Advent of avatars and the launching of several metaverse platforms by world-renowned organizations)

• An avatar is defined as a virtual representation of a particular individual for usage in metaverse gaming platforms. It's basically an image that is entirely computer-generated, like a bitmoji. The secret to providing gamers with more intense and fulfilling gaming experiences and fostering player loyalty lies in avatars. Players can have deep and complicated relationships with their avatars, each of which is distinctive and has significant gaming design ramifications. For example, one of the most well-known video game company known as, Massive Entertainment, has planned to collaborate with Disney and Lightstorm entertainment to develop an entirely avatar-based action-adventure game in 2023 called "Frontiers of Pandora." Moreover, Avatars act as the middle-man in a relationship between players & the non-playable characters, thereby proving to be an essential component in metaverse gaming. SMR had reported that downloading of avatar-based gaming apps in the USA increased from 2.4 million in Q1 2020 to 4.6 million in Q2 2021. Moreover, in the 1st quarter of 2022, there were approximately 4 million downloads across the country. All of the above-mentioned pointers are expected to augment the market growth significantly.

 

• Furthermore, some of the world-renowned companies have launched a plethora of metaverse platforms in order to improvise the level of gaming experience for their users, which in turn is fuelling market prosperity. For example: In an effort to create a strong metaverse gaming community, Nike recently announced the launch of its Swoosh platform. Swoosh is a Web 3.0-based metaverse gaming platform that enables users to create custom digital objects. This platform permits its registered users to acquire digital clothing, such as virtual jerseys or shoes, and learn more about it in order to use it adequately in virtual games, thereby generating an immersive visual environment, which in turn improvises their gaming experiences.

 

Restraints: (Simulator sickness & the rising cases of bullying and harassment in metaverse platforms)

Apart from providing a myriad number of benefits, Metaverse gaming also inculcates some drawbacks, such as:

a.) Gamers feel simulator sickness, a type of motion sickness while participating in immersive activities.

b.) Harassments, bullying, and assaults: The number of cases of harassment and bullying in the metaverse platforms is rising continuously, just like in the real world, online, and on social media. For instance, some women claimed that their avatars had been groped by attackers.

 

Opportunities (Rise in preferences among the gamers for metaverse platforms, & the rise in availability of plenty of options for P2E (Play to Earn), M2E (Move to Earn), and S2E (Sleep to Earn) in the Metaverse)

• The users have witnessed a strong growth potential in metaverse gaming, while businesses in every sphere are still contemplating the various opportunities that the Metaverse presents. As per SMR, a survey was conducted to gather information about the potential advantages of gameplay in the Metaverse, where almost 50% of the users claimed that it opens doors for novel business models, while 40% mentioned the capacity to forge stronger bonds between businesses and their clients. They also found potential in adopting new goods and services, enhancing customer acquisition, and establishing new gaming communities among their clientele, which in turn can cater to extensive opportunities in the future for market expansion. 

 

• Apart from this, more players than before are being drawn in by the Play to Earn (P2E) idea in the metaverse gaming platforms. It's interesting to see how companies are coming up with new strategies to entice people to play various games. Users can also own various digital assets while playing. By accomplishing in-game activities as they proceed through the game, they can acquire rewards with real-world, such as virtual lands, some NFTs, as well as cryptocurrency tokens. For example, BlockchainSpace creates tools for developing metaverse platforms that enable P2E gaming communities to perform better, gain access to funding, raise their earnings, and reach their fullest potential. It has also chosen to allocate $2.4M in order to fund the onboarding of 20,000 guilds in the P2E Metaverse in the future, serving more than 2,000 guilds & around 545,000 P2E users worldwide in 2022. Apart from this, Sleep 2 Earn (S2E), Move to Earn (M2E), and other well-liked varieties are also gaining popularity in the Metaverse gaming market and can yield a plethora of opportunities for market growth in the years to come. 

Metaverse in Gaming Market: Segmentation Analysis

The market has been broadly diversified based on Software, Hardware, Technology, Age Group, and Geography

By Software

• VR Metaverse Games

• Gaming Engine

By Hardware

• 3D Headset

• Metaverse Wearables

• Gaming Console

 

By Technology

• AR & VR

• Mixed Reality

• Blockchain (NFTs & Cryptocurrency)

• Others

 

By Age Group

• 11 to 19 years

• 20 to 35 years

• Above 35 Years

 

By Region

North America

• The U.S.

• Mexico

• Canada

• Remaining North America

 

Europe

• France

• United Kingdom

• Russia

• Germany

• Remaining Europe

 

Asia-Pacific

• China

• Japan

• India

• South Korea

• Rest of Asia-Pacific

 

LAMEA

• Brazil

• The Middle East

• Argentina

• Africa

• Rest of LAMEA

Based on Software, the Gaming Engine segment comprehensively led the market with a share of 59.91% throughout the estimated frame of time. The two most well-known gaming engines, Unreal and Unity, are very active in generating games that are compatible with the Metaverse, thereby promoting creation & selling in an open market, forming communities and AR/VR platforms, developing avatars, and interacting with other players like Fortnite, thereby fuelling the market growth. As per SMR, Unity3D is used to create 50% of the mobile games and 60% of AR/VR content in Metaverse. In 2021, there were more than 24 billion Unity engine installations worldwide, and it's expected to rise exponentially over the upcoming years.

 

Based on Hardware, the 'Metaverse Wearables' segment spearheaded the market with a significant share of 47.21% in 2022. These are referred to as the NFT wearables for digital accessories and virtual apparel that can be used to customize avatars in metaverse gaming environments. The trend of digital fashion is expanding exponentially. NFTs that are implemented on the blockchain can be used by designers to guarantee the originality, authenticity, and ownership of digital clothing and accessories in Metaverse. Moreover, these wearables are much more affordable for users in order to dress up their avatars according to their wishes. For example, Decentraland, one of the most well-known metaverse gaming platforms, had a record sale of NFT wearables this year. Around 20 Decentraland Wearable NFTs were sold, and Decentraland Wearables made $474.53 in total sales last week. One Decentraland Wearable NFT costs an average of $23.7. There are currently around 10,968 Decentraland Wearables owners, and there are 72,371 tokens available in total worldwide.

 

Based on Technology, the A.R. & V.R. segment spearheaded the growth rate of the market with the highest share and is expected to continue its dominance as time progresses. Virtual reality (V.R.), and augmented reality (A.R.), are strongly tied to the metaverse gaming concept. Users can add virtual gaming objects to the real world by using A.R. (augmented reality) technology. One of the most exciting types of visual designs is 3D computer modeling, which is used in V.R. to fully immerse the users in a 3D virtual gaming environment, thereby accelerating market growth. Moreover, the usage of V.R.-based headsets is also gaining popularity nowadays in metaverse gaming platforms. For example, Facebook recently announced that it is creating "Project Cambria," a cutting-edge virtual & augmented reality headset. According to Meta, the device will support mixed reality & will be equipped with new sensors that allow the virtual avatars to maintain eye contact and imitate real-world facial expressions in video games. Avatars will be able to better convey human emotions and use body language with the help of increasingly advanced technologies, thereby creating the impression of a real conversation in virtual settings. According to SMR experts, the combined market for A.R. and V.R. could be worth $300 billion by 2024 & almost $100 billion by 2030, which in turn, will fuel the market prosperity worldwide.

 

By Age Group, the 11 to 19 years segment held the lion's share of 67.23% during the prevised time frame of (2022 to 2030). The number of users in metaverse gaming platforms is increasing at an exponential rate as time progresses. According to an SMR study of 5,521 metaverse gamers, the majority of users of the top 3 games (Fortnite, Minecraft, & Roblox) are under 20 years old, out of which 59% of the users are male.

 

In terms of Geographical Outlook, North America undoubtedly dominated the market with a mammoth share in 2022 and is anticipated to continue its dominant era over the years to come. This is due to the expanding popularity of V.R. gaming, the increased demand for realistic gaming experiences, technological advancements in A.R. and V.R. devices, and the introduction of highly advanced V.R. headsets in the USA. SMR has reported that in the United States, there were around 90.9 Mn AR users and approximately 57.4 Mn V.R. users as of 2021. Moreover, the prevalence of some of the world-renowned organizations in metaverse gaming platforms like Roblox (around 230 million users), & Fortnite (around 85 million users) are also driving the market enhancement rate significantly over this region.

 

The Asia-Pacific region held the fastest growth rate over the time frame of 2022 to 2030 due to the advent of a myriad number of technological advancements in metaverse gaming. The term "metaverse in gaming" has gained immense popularity in China, thereby opening up a wide range of exciting business opportunities. Chinese tech organizations have already started to test the waters by making significant investments in VR/AR technologies and are expected to yield huge revenue in the future, thereby propelling market growth.

Metaverse in Gaming Market Competitive Landscape Analysis:

For the purpose of gathering precise information on the key competitors in the international market, a comprehensive competitive landscape analyzation is essential. A 360-degree company background, total revenue generation, market initiatives for Metaverse in gaming, R&D expenditures, company strengths and flaws, market potential, global presence, company financials, production capacity, production sites, and facilities, etc., are all taken into account during the comparison.

A list of Metaverse gaming companies operating in the market are:-

• Roblox Corporation
• Tencent Holdings Ltd.
• Epic Games
• Magic Leap Inc.
• Meta
• Lilith Games
• Decentraland
• The Sandbox
• Microsoft
• Unity
• NVIDIA
• Autodesk

 

Metaverse in Gaming Market Report Coverage

Report Attribute	Details
Period of Forecast	2022 - 2030
The market size value in 2022	USD 36.93 billion
The revenue forecast in 2030	USD 479.73 billion
Growth rate	CAGR of 37.85%
The base year for estimation	2021
Historical data	2017 – 2020
Unit	USD Billion, CAGR (2022 - 2030)
Segmentation	By Type, Product, Lubrication used, Application, and Region.
By Software	VR Metaverse Games, Gaming Engine
By Hardware	3D Headset, Metaverse Wearables, Gaming Console
By Technology	AR & VR, Mixed Reality, Blockchain (NFTs & Cryptocurrency), Others
By Age Group	11 to 19 years, 20 to 35 years and Above 35 Years
By Region	North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and LAMEA
Country Scope	India, China, USA, UK, Germany, and Italy.
Company Usability Profiles	Roblox Corporation, Tencent Holdings Ltd., Epic Games, Magic Leap Inc., Meta, Lilith Games, Decentraland, The Sandbox, Microsoft, Unity, NVIDIA, and Autodesk.

 

Recent Developments

• On November, 2022, A Next-Generation Web3 Metaverse called Artyfact announced that it would show off its first demonstration on P2E (Play to Earn) Metaverse Gaming. The Artyfact team achieved this by creating a new Web3 Gaming Metaverse featuring top-notch visuals and captivating gameplay and integrating the ground-breaking Play-&-Earn (PAE) model from an economical perspective (i.e., earning in NFTs and cryptocurrencies from this gaming platform). Instead of being a task that a player must complete to get rewards in typical P2E games, this would make it an interesting and engaging gaming environment with a plethora of earning features. It is anticipated that this presentation would make a big sensation in the GameFi community (i.e., a community where gamers & creators deal with NFTs and cryptocurrencies through gameplay).

 

• On September 2022, Epic Games collaborated with Hadean in order to invest $ 30 million for the development of Hadean's metaverse gaming infrastructure. By enabling huge numbers of concurrent users and opening up new gaming tools for the creators & developers, Epic Game's highly sophisticated Unreal Engine would aid Hadean in the development of its existing technologies for constructing metaverse gaming platforms adequately.

 

• On September 2022, NVIDIA unveiled its Omniverse Cloud Platform, a collection of cloud services that enable designers, developers, and enterprise teams to create, publish, and run the metaverse gaming apps from any location. This is the company's first SaaS (Software as a service) offering. Wherever the users may be, this Technology takes advantage of the cloud to access the robust power of data centers and make Omniverse features available. Currently, Omniverse is used by more than 700 businesses and 200,000 people globally. Individuals and teams could build & collaborate on the 3D processes using Omniverse Cloud in a single click without the requirement for any local computational resources. Moreover, the cloud gaming platform GeForce Now from Nvidia, which offers a worldwide graphics delivery network, would also be used by Omniverse Cloud for access purposes.

 

• On June 2022, Tencent Holdings, one of the leading companies of metaverse gaming in China, announced the launch of its "X.R./extended reality" units, which would significantly increase the usage of 3D graphics within its metaverse gaming platforms and enable users to access online content utilizing extended reality (X.R.) permanently. X.R. technologies cover a broad range of immersive technologies, including virtual reality, mixed reality, and augmented reality (V.R.), respectively. 

 

Metaverse Platforms	Function	Company
Omniverse Cloud Platform	A collection of cloud services that enable designers, developers, and enterprise teams to create, publish, and run metaverse gaming apps from any location.	NVIDIA
Fortnite	A metaverse gaming platform where users can team up to fight other characters that are either controlled by the game or by other users in order to stay alive in an open-world setting. It also includes one of the top metaverse games like "Save the World", a single-player or cooperative (played with friends) game, which entails fending off creatures that resemble zombies.	Epic Games
Star Atlas	Allows the users to trade in NFTs and purchase virtual assets. The users can achieve these tokens by completing a series of in-game challenges.	ATMTA