Published on: 24/05/2022
Half of gaming executives interested in metaverse, survey reveals
The metaverse is still a yet-to-mature industry. Many companies have expressed their interest in venturing into the metaverse, including Meta. A recent survey has revealed that 50 percent of gaming executives understand the metaverse.
They said their companies would participate in developing the industry. Meanwhile, 26 percent of the participants said they understood the technology but were undecided whether to participate. The rest said they understood the principles but had no idea how the space works.
Gaming executives express interest in metaverse
In a report by Ernst & Young, 50 percent of gaming executives said they understood the metaverse and their organizations would dive deep into it. 26 percent are somewhat in the middle, they understood the space but doubted integrating the technology would benefit them. Meanwhile, 24 percent understood the principles underlying the industry but had no idea how it really works.
A total of 97 percent said they believed that video games were the center of the metaverse and gaming companies were expected to roll in and establish their presence in the metaverse in the near future.
A little below 50 percent said they believed the metaverse offered new opportunities for business models. Meanwhile, 49 percent said they were prioritizing investments in VR, augmented, or a hybrid of reality experiences.
Currently, many metaverse gaming companies are still in the prototype stage. In addition to VRChat, other well-established games such as Minecraft, Fortnite, and Roblox have shown interest in the industry.
Other than social connections, many online video games nowadays encourage in-game payments for purchases of digital cosmetics and skins. The gaming world and the metaverse are slowly aligning, but the former have long used many features that would later inspire the latter. The idea of players having means of representing themselves in the digital world with avatars and in-game payments has been part of online video games for decades.
Future of metaverse
If there is anything that gaming companies realized after making their way into the metaverse and NFT integration, it would be that gamers tend to be skeptical. Their sentiments are understandable as both the metaverse and NFTs are still in their early stages of development. The former has yet to see its true potential and the latter is currently ravaged by scams.
Perhaps more of a concern, the metaverse’s 3D graphics are far from eye-pleasing even when compared to the majority of video games developed by indie studios. Comparing the current stage of the metaverse with what has been achieved by Triple-A gaming studios is in no way close.
What the new industry has nailed this far is social connection. That being said, The Sandbox and Decentraland offer not only social connections but also earning opportunities in the digital space. Meanwhile, the gaming industry has VRChat, an online virtual world game where people interact with others using a 3D avatar.
There are no NFTs or cryptocurrencies involved in VRChat as opposed to The Sandbox and Decentraland. That being said, the gaming industry is hesitantly heading into the metaverse.
