How large is the metaverse?

 Metaverse” is a term that’s becoming ambiguous as the year goes by. Different parties are investing in the metaverse to reach their goals. And thus defining the concept. Now we’re not here to talk about all that. It’s been discussed too much.

To summarize, the metaverse entails everything the digital world offers. From online shopping to social interactions, the metaverse is an over-arching concept that can encompass our digital future. Or that’s what we’re made to believe.

Investors are certainly buying into the idea. This has led to huge investments in the physical and software side of the metaverse. Companies like Meta and Microsoft are going all in while Apple and others are playing a quiet game. One thing, however, is certain – no one wants to miss out on the potential $800 Billion market.

So if you’ve been wondering how to make money in metaverse, you’re not alone. These tech giants are too leaning into the idea and exploring ways to capitalize on it.

If companies worth Trillions invest in the metaverse, it must be huge. At least bigger than the current avenues.

The real value of the metaverse

How does a trillion dollar sound? That’s what the metaverse market was projected to be, by the end of this decade.

But Bloomberg might have upped the ante with its new report. Metaverse, with all its subsidiaries like software, hardware, digital advertising, gaming, etc., was valued at $478.7 billion in 2020. This isn’t traditional by any standard. No new concept has had this much leverage in the last 3 decades – or maybe ever. And Bloomberg projects that in just 4 years, i.e., 2024, the market cap will be around $800 Billion.

There are other projections, more conservative and encompassing a limited scope of the metaverse, that put the metaverse at around a Trillion dollars by 2030. Even this number is too big for a single tech idea to achieve in under a decade. If metaverse were a country, it would be one of the wealthiest ones around, with so much capital.

We know metaverse isn’t a country and will have different sectors valued differently. Let’s explore each separately.

Gaming

Gaming is probably the biggest contender for a piece of the $800 Billion market cap. Because it is the very thing that will propel the metaverse into the mainstream.

Metaverse games will be way more immersive, or at least that’s what we are told, than traditional gaming. (We’re not skeptical, but we’ll keep our expectations limited for some time).

According to some estimates, metaverse gaming (or GameFi in general) will be worth $412.9 billion by 2024. This number is bigger than the current gaming industry’s value. With the added benefit of the play-to-earn concept, we can expect the industry to be a juggernaut as the overall metaverse concept matures.

There is a logic behind all of these estimates. As more people enter the metaverse, it will be a playground even for those who wouldn’t have tried gaming. There’s one more thing. Community. When people become part of a community, they participate in common activities. In the metaverse, these activities will be centered on gaming. So the market is bound to grow and become bigger than the traditional gaming industry.

Metaverse Events

From what we’ve seen, metaverse events have the potential to attract large numbers. Events like that hosted in Fortnite attract millions of viewers per event. There are other potential use cases for the event category of the metaverse. For example, a sporting event happening in another corner of the world can be experienced from the comfort of your home, in the metaverse. This whole section of the metaverse has the room to grow into a $200 Billion industry.

If that doesn’t encourage investors and celebrities to host virtual events, we don’t know what will.

Hardware

One avenue that we haven’t talked about much is metaverse hardware. Meta, Microsoft, and soon Apple are racing to develop the next-gen hardware suited for the metaverse.

This hardware primarily includes VR/AR headsets. They’re finding ways to make these accessible and affordable on a large scale. The potential is huge but we can’t use exact numbers here because the research time for these can span years.

So, what about your part in the metaverse?

Metaverse is big. Maybe bigger than initially anticipated. The market is gearing up for it. And you should gear up too. There is time to research and find an area of the metaverse you want to explore. It could define your financial future.