The global metaverse entertainment industry is expected to generate $221.7 billion by 2031, a CAGR of 32.3% from 2022 to 2031.

Drivers, Restraints, And Opportunities

An increase in consumer spending across virtual concerts and other events, technological innovations that support franchise development and improve audience engagement, and the ability to help users connect with a community should help fuel the growth of the metaverse entertainment market over the coming years. However, various privacy and security concerns, the high cost of AR and VR devices, and legal challenges, such as the rights of digital collectibles, will likely hinder the global market growth somewhat. Nevertheless, initiatives regarding the advancement of digital transformation within the metaverse entertainment industry, like the use of blockchain technology, are expected to present more growth opportunities for the global market over the next decade.

Covid-19 Scenario

The restrictions brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic had a positive impact on the metaverse entertainment industry. According to SAGE Journals, the amount of time spent playing video games rose by more than 71% during the period of COVID-19 lockdowns. This influenced many of the popular gaming companies to expand their offerings portfolio during that time. For example, in July 2020, Epic Games partnered up with rap artist Travis ScOTT to host the Astronomical Tour in Fortnite. The concert stacked up roughly 45.8 million viewers in-game and around 120 million views when live-streaming on YouTube and Twitch.

Such instances promise exciting opportunities for the future of metaverse platforms and technologies, which are anticipated to grow in the coming years. The following is an overview of some main areas of growth, according to a recent report by Allied Market Research.

Industry Forecast: 2022 – 2031

Components

In the components category, hardware contributed to the largest share of almost three-fifths of the metaverse entertainment market in 2021 and is expected to continue to rule the roost during the forecast period, as hardware is obviously crucial to implementing metaverse environments for entertainment purposes.

The software segment is set to witness the fastest CAGR of 36.7%, owing to an expected surge in the adoption of software for the implementation of virtual worlds.

Technology

The virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) segment accounted for the largest share of more than two-fifths of the technology category for the metaverse entertainment market in 2021 and should maintain its prominent growth during the forecast time frame. This is largely down to the high adoption of the metaverse in the gaming industry for virtual world creation. 

The blockchain segment is expected to have the highest CAGR of 36.9% by 2031, as blockchain provides the added security needed to own digital assets in the virtual world.

Applications

Film production is set to dominate in terms of revenue in the applications category over the forecast period. It held the largest share of nearly two-fifths of the metaverse entertainment market in 2021 and is projected to continue its growth during the forecast period.

The OTT platforms segment looks set to exhibit the highest CAGR of 37.4% by 2031 due to a rapid surge in OTT platforms across the globe.

Regional Forecast 

North America held the largest market share in 2021, accounting for around two-fifths of the global metaverse entertainment market, largely owing to high-quality content development and technology adoption that we have seen in countries like the US and Canada. 

The market in Asia-Pacific is expected to dominate and show the fastest CAGR of 37.1% over the forecast time frame, owing to growing digital and economic transformation in the region.

Leading Market Players

• Epic Games, Inc.
• Roblox Corporation
• Meta, Niantic, Inc.
• Qualcomm Technologies, Inc.
• QUEPPELIN
• Tencent
• Overactive Media Group
• Tetavi
• Hungama Digital Media 
• Entertainment Pvt. GmbH.

These key players in the metaverse entertainment market have adopted various strategies, including product launches, expansion, and partnerships, among other things, to increase market penetration and strengthen their position within the industry.