Metaverse Market

Market Overview

The global metaverse market size was expected to be worth USD 62.23 billion in 2022. It is predicted to grow at a CAGR of 40.6% during the forecast period (2023-2031).

The metaverse is a digital environment that simulates the real world. It uses social media, blockchain, augmented reality, and virtual reality to create places where people can engage with each other in ways that are similar to the real world. With the help of the metaverse, people can connect online in more varied ways than currently available. Users in the metaverse can fully immerse themselves in a location where the virtual and real worlds collide instead of simply watching digital information. Users can interact with friends, work, play, learn, shop, and create without leaving their homes.

Market Dynamics

Market Drivers

Increasing Focus on Converging Digital and Physical Worlds Using Internet

The number of digital twins, like digital and real worlds, grows as their power and complexity increase. The metaverse connects the physical and digital worlds. The metaverse is a network of linked online worlds where augmented, virtual, and physical reality coexist. Users can talk to their friends, work, travel, buy goods and services, and attend events. Even though many virtual worlds exist on the internet, people cannot move between them and keep their identities and possessions. Integrating many internet components into a single, seamless whole might resolve this issue in the future. It has even been used in the internet's subsequent era.

The metaverse can apply to digital settings enhanced with virtual reality (VR) or augmented reality (AR). The COVID-19 pandemic also boosted interest in the metaverse. In addition, there is a growing need for methods to make online contact more lifelike as more individuals begin working and attending school remotely. As a result, the rising focus on converging digital and physical worlds using the internet is driving market growth.

Increasing Traction and Popularity of Mixed Reality (MR)

Mixed reality combines both real-world and digital aspects. It integrates digital and real-world objects by scanning the physical environment and producing a map of our surroundings so that the device can figure out how to realistically display digital material in that space, allowing us to interact with it. Furthermore, virtual people, objects, and landscapes will allow us to explore new surroundings and make experiences more accessible to everyone.

Mixed reality (MR) devices constantly acquire additional information happening in the surroundings, unlike virtual reality (VR), which immerses users in a completely virtual environment, or augmented reality (AR), which merely overlays digital content on top of the actual environment without considering its unique and dynamic composition. Such information is beneficial for smoothly integrating digital content into the physical environment and allowing consumers to interact. The market for mixed reality (MR) technologies is projected to skyrocket in the coming years, which will likely play a crucial part in the expansion of the metaverse.

Market Restraint

Growing Cyber-Threats

The threat of cyber-based attacks targeting the metaverse is a primary concern in the global market. Cyber threats are an essential concern for the effective functioning of the metaverse. Cyber threat refers to a malicious act that leads to software damage, disruption, and data theft, hindering system effectiveness. Data breaches and unauthorized commands are some of the types of cyberattacks. In addition, cyberattacks can cause system failure, which leads to improper functioning of the metaverse. Hence, the metaverse must be designed to prevent cyber-attacks and mitigate their risks. Cybersecurity plays an essential role in ensuring a secure and reliable network for the proper functioning of a metaverse.

Market Opportunities

Technological Advancement

The subsequent development in the development of the internet is the metaverse. It is a shared online environment where augmented, virtual, and physical realities converge. As one currently knows, the internet exists in four dimensions in the metaverse. The concept will eventually transcend social networking sites and online gaming. In addition, remote employment, decentralized governance, and digital identification are potential features of the metaverse. Users can move about and explore 3D environments as networked virtual reality (VR) headsets and glasses become more prevalent.

Additionally, gaming, social networking, education, and career training can use the metaverse in the real world. The metaverse has the potential to disrupt several sectors by providing wearables based on virtual reality (VR) that let users explore a virtual world from the comfort of their homes. In ways that games do not, the metaverse will permeate real life, bringing new opportunities to interact with loved ones, conduct business, and cooperate. Thus, the technological advances in the metaverse create lucrative opportunities for the market to grow over the forecast period.

Regional Analysis

North America Dominates the Global Market

By region, the market of global metaverse is divided into North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, South America,and the Middle East and Africa.

North America is the most significant shareholder in the global market and is anticipated to grow at a CAGR of 30.3% during the forecast period. This pertains to the United States of America in addition to Canada and Mexico. The primary factors influencing the market's expansion are the growing emphasis on using the internet to merge the virtual and real worlds and the ever-increasing acceptance of mixed reality (MR). Advanced virtual reality, 3D simulation, and augmented reality are being widely adopted by numerous businesses in North America to improve their corporate processes. Further, technological advancements like Extended Reality, 5G, and AI may make the metaverse futuristic from the perspective of corporate intelligence.

Asia-Pacific is expected to grow at a CAGR of 62.2% over the forecast period. Due to the rising popularity of the internet and other technologies that converge the physical and digital worlds, the Asia-Pacific market is growing. To make business decisions backed by data insights, more and more firms in China, Japan, and India are using skills evolving multiple trends and finding appeal in mixed reality. In addition, the use of metaverse solutions in the region has been driven by the growing desire among regional businesses to compete more effectively with their western counterparts.

Europe is expected to grow significantly over the forecast period. Continuous technical advancements and a rise in the use of big data in many different European businesses are driving market growth. The numerous technological advances in European nations drive the demand for virtual analytics solutions in this industry. Due to significant projects like Meaningful Integration of Data, Analytics, and Services and AEGLE (an analytics framework for integrated and tailored healthcare services in Europe), the metaverse market is anticipated to grow in Europe (MIDAS). Doctors can operate remotely utilizing robotic arms and a combination of technology in some virtual reality and augmented reality applications for healthcare. In the upcoming years, market growth is anticipated to be further fueled by the expanding developments in virtual reality.

The South America region is segmented into emerging countries such as Brazil, Argentina, Rest of South America. The growth of the metaverse market in South America is growing steadily compared to other regions. On the other hand, the South American market is expected to produce a lot over the next few years because more money is being put into the tech industry, especially in cloud computing, IoT, virtual reality, augmented reality, and AI. These factors are fueling the progress of the market in South America. Although the Middle East and Africa market has gained traction, growth is anticipated to be steady throughout the projected period. A surge in demand for cloud-based analytics solutions in the metaverse primarily drives change in the region's market.

Segmental Analysis

The global metaverse market is segmented intocomponents,platforms, technology, application, and end-user.

By component, the global metaverse market is divided into hardware and software.

The hardware segment is the highest contributor to the market and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 43.4% during the forecast period. Hardware-based products such as smart glasses, haptics, and omni treadmills are used to operate or create virtual or AR-based environments. Merely defined, smart glasses will serve as a tool for connecting people to the metaverse. However, such a transit between the physical and virtual worlds would necessitate using more powerful and intelligent smart glasses that can handle the computing load while being easy on the eyes and light on the face. Furthermore, Meta's prototype haptic glove incorporates soft robotics principles and uses pneumatic and electroactive actuators to inflate tiny air pockets on the glove's fingers and palms. These actuators are small motors that can generate pressure and touch sensations. However, omnidirectional treadmills allow users to move in more than one direction. They enable the user complete freedom of movement within virtual surroundings in the context.

The software enables laptops to access computing power from other devices, including chips from competitors. The software is designed to solve technical challenges for users. Software is a crucial part of metaverse solutions. Consumers will have more access to goods and choices as the number of AR/VR gamers increases. However, many popular platforms use apps that are incompatible with other platforms and adhere to various development standards, locking their products within their ecosystems. As a result, software developers are compelled to create apps and platforms that may or may not be interoperable with any of these ecosystems. With the influx of new entrants into the business, the possibility of fragmented software ecosystems has increased.

By platform, the global metaverse market is divided into desktop/laptops, mobile, and wearables.

The wearables segment owns the highest market share and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 39.9% over the forecast period. The whole metaverse experience is offered through wearables. Meta has been developing several new wearable technologies to improve users' presence. Wearable technology to connect the physical and digital worlds. Wearable technology with sensors gathers information and gives users feedback.

The laptop/desktop gives the appearance that three-dimensional objects are floating in space. It brings virtual objects into the real world using a webcam and anaglyph glasses. Desktop software (which requires a computer with a webcam) interacts with a printed book specially prepared to offer AR content on some panels.

By technology, the global metaverse market is divided into blockchain, VR and AR, mixed reality, and others.

The VR and AR segment is the highest contributor to the market and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 43.2% during the forecast period. A convergence of AR and VR elements could categorize the metaverse era. In establishing scalable and accurate virtual worlds, the metaverse will combine augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR) with artificial intelligence and blockchain. The metaverse is a vision of a connected 3D digital environment in which natural and virtual worlds are combined via virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR). Augmented reality allows the user to create virtual objects in the natural environment. In contrast, VR hardware provides high-fidelity visuals.

The metaverse uses bitcoin in addition to credit cards and PayPal to support the development of a digital economy. Blockchain has proven effective in six key metaverse categories: digital proof of ownership, digital collectability, value transfer, governance, accessibility, and interoperability. The metaverse is well-suited to blockchain technology because it offers a transparent and cost-effective alternative.

By application, the global metaverse market is divided into gaming, online shopping, content creation, social media, and others.

The gaming segment owns the market share and is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 43.6% during the forecast period. The metaverse will provide a more comprehensive open economic paradigm, especially in the gaming industry, eliminating the one-sided capitalist-driven model and favoring a more lively and inclusive play-to-earn gaming ecosystem. Aside from the all-encompassing thrills of online gaming, gamers and users will play an essential role in this new economic model. As the metaverse grows, it will provide a hyper-real alternative universe to coexist. In online game universes like Fortnite, Minecraft, and Roblox, clues of the metaverse already exist. The companies behind those games will be crucial in developing the metaverse.

The metaverse will have a favorable impact on the online retail industry as well. The metaverse will create a new generation of virtual reality in the e-commerce sector. Online shoppers could interact with the products of their choice in real time by using their virtual avatars. Buyers can access, investigate, and check out what they want to buy if an e-commerce firm establishes a digital shop utilizing metaverse. Metaverse will introduce an entirely new shopping experience.

By end-user, the global metaverse market is divided into consumers and enterprises.

The consumer segment is the highest contributor to the market and is anticipated to grow at a CAGR of 43.7% over the forecast period. The rising demand for gaming, live events, video entertainment, and leisure activities contributes to the growth of the consumer segment. Users can use the metaverse to hang out with friends, work, play, learn, shop, create, and more without going anywhere physically. Wearables such as headsets, jackets, and smart glasses are expected to generate significant revenue streams for metaverse companies in the projected period.

Recent Developments

• December 2022- Microsoft Corporation and Viasat launched a new agreement to provide Internet connectivity to 10 million people globally, including 5 million in Africa. Together, they will enhance Airband's operations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nigeria, Guatemala, Mexico, and the United States.
• December 2022- Microsoft Corporation and the London Stock Exchange Group agreed to use the Microsoft Cloud to build LSEG's data infrastructure and work together to create new data and analytics products and services.