While the metaverse is still a virtual space where even behemoth companies at the forefront of creating it are yet to settle on a definition, that hasn’t stopped industry analysts predicting its inevitable roll-out and subsequent market value.
A new report from Technavio, a market research firm, indicates that the market size of the metaverse initiatives related to entertainment will grow up to $28.92 billion from 2021 to 2026.
The report also identified two key areas that will spearhead this growth including the rising consumer spending on virtual concerts and events which is now possible thanks to the continuous advancement of VR and AR technologies.
The second key factor is the rising adoption of online gaming, and if merged with VR and AR technologies, will offer a whole new level of immersion that will encourage spending in online gaming as well.
As with many other markets, the study also shows that there will be challenges with this particular growth market such as privacy and security concerns in the metaverse. Institutions like the World Economic Forum (WEF) and Interpol have already raised security concerns in the metaverse with Interpol even bringing its services into a police-focused metaverse.
The study also revealed that most of the projected metaverse growth will come from the U.S. due to various factors. For now, however, 33% of the increase is projected to come from the U.S which is thanks to the “rapid convergence of the entertainment industry and traction of the gaming culture, the integration of gaming services into the service offerings of major entertainment brands, and increased investment to create more immersive gaming and entertainment experiences.”
They’ve been other projected reports about the metaverse in the entertainment industry as well, such as JPMorgan saying how the Chinese metaverse gaming market could surpass more than $100 billion in value and Citi predicting that the next iteration of the internet might just be a $13 trillion opportunity.
Technavio’s study also predicts that the metaverse will rise in other areas like film production, estimating that movies will become interactive and viewers will be able to affect the cinematic environments with VR technology.
Isa Muhammad is a writer and video game journalist covering many aspects of entertainment media including the film industry. He's steadily writing his way to the sharp end of journalism and enjoys staying informed. If he's not reading, playing video games or catching up on his favourite TV series, then he's probably writing about them.
