BigTechs in the Metaverse Race
In the second half of 2021, the metaverse started to become an agenda item in headlines, on screens, and in boardrooms. Now, brands and companies are rushing to prepare for this new version of digital interaction. A competition to create, define, and own the metaverse has practically begun...
In the second half of 2021, the metaverse started to become an agenda item in headlines, on screens, and in boardrooms. Now, brands and companies are rushing to prepare for this new version of digital interaction. A competition to create, define, and own the metaverse has practically begun. Digital artist and creator of the first NFT digital home, Mars House, Krista Kim tells Wunderman Thompson Intelligence, “There was a space race in the 1960s, and now there is a metaverse race.” “People are really eager to create the new metaverse.” BigTechs and game companies Now, Big Techs have their eyes on the metaverse. Of course, Facebook opened the door. In October 2021, Mark Zuckerberg made a big brand pivot when he announced that Meta’s future was to be a metaverse company and then changed the company’s name to Meta. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella also said that Microsoft has started to build an “enterprise metaverse.” Game companies are leading Game companies have also started to allocate serious space for the metaverse on their platforms. In fact, at its current level, the Metaverse is already a playground… In the future, brands are struggling to turn this into their own domain and create a new ‘marketing game’ for consumers. It is therefore possible to say that game companies will be the biggest area of the Metaverse. Online purchases, NFTing in the game are also part of this whole. High investment level Epic Games closed a $1 billion funding round to support its “long-term vision for the metaverse.” Niantic, the game developer behind Pokémon Go, raised $300 million to build what it describes as a “real-world metaverse.” Nvidia launched an “engineers’ metaverse” with the inauguration of Omniverse. Now, other companies are making efforts to acquire game developers. Most recently, FarmVille creator Zynga was acquired for $12.7 billion, and Tencent acquired UK game developer Sumo Group for $1.7 billion. Demand from all sectors Even brands in sectors not directly related to the creation of the metaverse, such as law and asset management, have begun to predict its increasing value. In March, Metaverse Group launched Metaverse REIT, the first real estate investment trust of its kind for virtual assets. Law firm Reed Smith published a legal guide to the metaverse covering legal issues ranging from intellectual property to privacy and competition, which the firm calls “the greatest industrial revolution the world has ever seen.” In June, Roundhill Investments and Matthew Ball launched the Roundhill Ball Metaverse investment fund, which holds holdings in companies such as Nvidia, Tencent, and Roblox. In short, the competition to create, define, and own the Metaverse has begun. Mobile application trends The Commencis 2022 Mobile Application Trends report was recently published. According to the data in the report, the number of smartphone users, which was 6.65 million in 2022, is estimated to reach 7.5 million in 2026. In addition, the number of mobile application downloads, which was 155 billion in 2021, is expected to reach 171 billion in 2022. The report shares that among 10 markets, the daily time spent on mobile applications in 2021 exceeded 4 hours and 48 minutes, a 30 percent increase compared to 2019. Trends in mobile applications -We see the Internet of Things (IoT), Blockchain, foldable phones, 5G, wearables, Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality (AR/VR), mobile wallets, super applications, Beacon technology, predictive analytics, low…