The metaverse continues to advance despite investment cooling, with intelligence firm ABI Research projecting the growth of core metaverse users to reach 1 billion by 2030.
Although foundational elements like digital markets and key enabling technologies are growing at different rates within the metaverse, regulatory changes, standardisation, technological advancements and new business models will collectively influence all these aspects, ensuring the continued development of the metaverse.
ABI Research also expects key inflection points within the next three to four years as developments within the three pillars amp up the pace of metaverse adoption. This is particularly true in the consumer sector, which is currently behind in terms of development compared to the industrial market. Within the consumer space, this growth is expected to bring metaverse revenue close to $50 billion by 2030.
AI and the metaverse
Michael Inouye, principal analyst, metaverse markets and technologies at ABI Research said, “While we refer to the metaverse, we shouldn’t place too much value on this term – it is not a market in of itself, and it certainly didn’t start when Facebook changed its name.
“Metaverse should be viewed as a useful way to codify ongoing market transitions and industry trends rather than positioning it as a new phenomenon – this is why we remain confident progress toward this future metaverse is still ongoing,” continued Inouye. “Artificial Intelligence (AI) has taken the spotlight, but it’s not replacing metaverse – in fact, it is a critical enabling technology and a catalyst toward this future.”
New XR headsets such as Apple’s Vision Pro demonstrate the potential of spatial computing, which enhances the connection between existing workflows and applications in immersive settings. Advancements in technologies like Wi-Fi (for instance, Wi-Fi 7) will enhance wireless connections between mobile devices and XR viewers, making these devices more available to a wider audience, the report says.
Similarly, new business models that are linked to digital asset ownership will emerge from the gaming and social media sectors (going beyond the trends in Web3). This will drive the growth of content creation akin to the growth observed in streaming videos. These changes will influence the requirements and resources needed for networks, opening up new possibilities for various players in the value chain, including operators, hyperscale companies, retailers/brands and industrial firms.
“Look at the trends around privacy, shifting power and control to the consumer, industry 4.0, network convergence, live service gaming etc and you start to see the clear parallels and pathway toward a future metaverse – even if the future isn’t referred to the metaverse, a similar future is still very much in the cards,” Inouye added.
These findings are from a collection of reports and you can purchase the full ABI report from the official website.
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.
