- The metaverse industry is expected to hit $679 billion by 2030
- In 2021, North America was the largest metaverse market in the world
- Companies across North America, Asia and Europe keep investing in this field
With the total market opportunity estimated at over one trillion dollars in revenues yearly, there’s a literal scramble for the metaverse. Companies across North America, Asia, and Europe continue to invest in the field.
The global metaverse market size was estimated to be worth $38.8 billion in 2021. The market is forecast to grow at a compound annual growth rate(CAGR) of 39.4% between 2022 and 2030. With such growth prospects, companies are aggressively angling to pull considerable chunks of the metaverse pie.
Projections show an $8 billion increase between 2021 and 2022. The industry is expected to see exponential growth to hit $679 billion by 2030.
In 2021, Meta (Facebook’s parent company) announced that its future was tied to the metaverse. Suddenly, other leading companies such as Google and Microsoft revealed metaverse projects they’ve been working on.
Others like Nike have already jumped on the metaverse hype train. The multinational corporation has established virtual sneakers and a virtual fashion store. Industry experts expect this technology to infiltrate many industries, including healthcare, education, and social interaction.
Estimates also put the potential metaverse market opportunity between $3.75 trillion and $12.4 trillion. With the digital economy forecasted to contribute about 16.8% of the global economy in 2021, countries continue to position themselves to reap the benefits of technology such as the metaverse.
Metaverse Markets and Regional Estimates
The primary revenue opportunity for the metaverse revolves around gaming, AR, VR, and Mixed Reality (MR). These four areas have the potential of roping $412 billion in 2024.
North America
The demand for metaverse is growing globally. North America leads in growth prospects due to the availability of many solutions cutting across retail, finance, and gaming. Companies like Meta and Roblox continue to put the continent in the spotlight due to a high concentration of innovations.
There’s also a growing number of startups focusing on the commercialization of the metaverse, which boasts North America's growth prospects. Consumers in the region continue to adopt metaverse technologies with significant year-on-year growth. Here are some key statistics:
In 2021, North America was the largest metaverse market in the world, with a revenue share of 70%.
The growth in the following technologies supports the increase in the adoption of the metaverse:
Virtual reality(VR), augmented reality(AR), mixed reality(MR)
5G internet connection
Blockchain technologies
The US is the key driver of growth in metaverse adoption in the region:
The number of VR users in the US alone is set to hit 64 million by 2023.
The US VR market size was worth $4.6 billion in 2021, representing 18% of the global market size.
57% of metaverse users believe it will be as popular as social media in the coming years.
Asia-Pacific and Europe
The Asia-pacific region is expected to see the fastest growth through 2027 with a CAGR of 49.6%. The strong growth is buoyed by rapid technological advancements such as 5G, VR, and blockchain. The metaverse is seeing increased usage in manufacturing, entertainment, and governance.
Studies show considerable interest and growth in China, Japan, and India. A large chunk of the population in the Asia-Pacific region resides in these countries. About 90% have access to smartphones and the internet. This provides an extensive market for rapid metaverse adoption:
78% of Chinese digital economy consumers aged between 14 and 50 years are interested in interacting within the metaverse.
82% of Chinese who’ve interacted with the metaverse express strong optimism for the technology.
Metaverse platforms in the region have a solid user base. For instance, Zepeto hosts over 2 million active users daily. In China, QQ metaverse by Tencent boasts of significant activity.
The metaverse market in China is set to be worth more than $50 billion by 2025.
Europe is considered a hotspot for VR investment, coming only second to North America. The European AR/VR market is projected to reach $20.9 billion by 2029.
Countries at the Forefront of the Metaverse
The US, China, India, and the UK are world leaders in technology. However, many countries globally have companies developing solutions around the metaverse. This is despite the metaverse being considered a nascent technology by the public.
The metaverse is set to create 400,000 jobs in the UK and Germany by 2030. Here are some other highlights about countries leading in the push for metaverse adoption:
China and the US are world leaders in VR/AR spending and expenditure. China is projected to spend about $26 billion on VR/AR technologies by 2024.
VR/AR spending in the US is expected to have a CAGR of 75.1% by 2027.
Surprisingly, the excitement for the metaverse is higher in developing countries compared to high-income countries. Recent research suggests that residents from China, India, Peru, Saudi Arabia, and Colombia have optimism for the metaverse. Chinese showed the strongest optimism at 78%.
The survey also alluded that the Turkish people were the most familiar with the metaverse technology at 86%. Indians followed at 80%, while the Chinese came in third at 73%.
Unlike other countries that primarily encourage startups to drive nascent technologies, South Korea has directly invested $177.7 million into developing metaverse-related solutions. The country hopes to increase engagement with its citizenry and develop other industries around the metaverse.
There are different user-facing metaverse projects utilizing the blockchain. Sandbox, Axie Infinity, and Decentraland are currently some of the leading virtual environments. These platforms increase user engagement and governance using cryptocurrencies. This has increased activity level and awareness of the metaverse.
“We are still in the early days as many more startups innovate around the metaverse. There will be new ways to play, work and educate. As the technology continues to mature, we expect an increase in revenue and user activity in the whole ecosystem,”says Jonathan Merry, CEO of BanklessTimes.com.
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