McKinsey & Co. published their research titled Value creation in the metaverse, in which 3,400 people and 13 senior executives participated. The published content includes the value creation potential of the metaverse, the investment landscape, and various side researches.
As the metaverse is still being defined and in its infancy, many companies are investing in its development. According to McKinsey’s research, the value of the metaverse will reach up to $5 trillion by 2030. In 2021, investors invested $13 billion in metaverse research. Although this value is only six months from the end of 2022, it has exceeded 120 billion dollars this year.
The report includes a wealth of exclusive insights and analysis into the metaverse’s adoption, potential, and possible impact on behavior. The researchers also state that they have spoken to metaverse developers and industry experts.
Eric Hazan, the Senior Partner at McKinsey & Co., said these words in a statement:
“The metaverse represents a strategic inflection point for companies, and it presents a significant opportunity to influence the way we live, connect, learn, innovate, and collaborate. Our ambition is to help leaders of both consumer and B2B companies better understand its power and potential, identify strategic imperatives, and act as a force for its evolution.”
Metaverse will appear in many forms (game platforms, retail channels, educational tool etc.) and has revolutionary potential. It is a term that has been in circulation for decades, but even today we still have difficulty defining it. So what exactly is the metaverse? We have compiled some sections from the research for you, if you want to reach the full version, you can click here.
Metaverse isn’t just about games
The study positions the metaverse as the next step on the internet, seamlessly merging our digital and physical lives. Beyond that, it addresses issues such as the emergence of non-game use cases for businesses and consumers as billions of dollars are invested in games, and the metaverse continues to be seeded.
Game is critical to the creation of the metaverse but is not limited to playing games. While games are the most common activity among all generations, it is most popular among Gen Z (87% of Gen Z surveyed are reported to be interested in gaming). However, the situations are not the same for generation Y and beyond. The majority of Baby Boomers are interested in shopping, while millennials are more focused on fitness, education and shopping.
“We have Instagram. We have email. We have messaging. And then there’s our real-life friends; the real-life activity that we’re participating in. Sometimes there’s an intersection between those two. But when I think about a real-world vision of the metaverse, it’s really a union of those where they become much more deeply fused; where there’s a digital extension to everything that’s real.”
Increase in investments
Interest in the Metaverse has increased tremendously recently. Google searches about Metaverse increased by 7200% last year, and the number of Roblox users reached 55 million daily. Facebook changed its name to Meta and set up a special section worth 10 billion dollars.
The fact that Roblox is a game with 55 million users, virtual land sales reached 500 million dollars, and Meta’s realization of these breakthroughs created the perception that the industry is open to development and worth investing in. Andreessen Horowitz recently launched the $600 million Games Fund One fund specifically for the metaverse.
Senior leaders think the metaverse will have a significant impact on the industry and has the potential to drive financial growth. 95% of leaders say they expect the metaverse to positively impact the industry in five to ten years, while 31% say the metaverse will fundamentally change the industry.
“Gaming is already incredibly social and you have continuous innovation of social features. But as you’re trying to draw in people who don’t self-identify as gamers, a more extensive set of social-engagement mechanisms is going to be required to convince them to spend more time in the metaverse.”
Ken Wee, Chief Strategy Officer at Activision Blizzard
Metaverse and Web3
While Metaverse continues to create significant opportunities for producers and users, the support of Web3 brings many new opportunities.
“It’s going to be important to create a truly creator-focused economy in the open metaverse, where creators can realize the value of their creations and not just be at the mercy of a gatekeeper that takes all the profit off the top because they are at the gate and they can do it.”
Marc Petit, VP of Epic Games’ Unreal Engine Ecosystem
Web3 provides a new decentralized ecosystem where users can own, monetize and exploit for their benefit and where creators can monetize their content and talent in different ways. In this scenario, there are three key technologies:
- Universal, public and permanent blockchain technology
- Digital assets are published on the blockchain for portability and permanence
- Smart contracts that provide benefits by facilitating self-executing applications