As you may already know, various technology companies are starting to build infrastructures to cater to the next cool thing which is the Metaverse. The term Metaverse may be quite new to some but we would try as much as possible to break it down. If you understand the concept of the term universe then you’ll understand a bit of what Metaverse stands for.
‘Metaverse’, is a coinage that came into the formation from the words ‘meta’ which means beyond, and the word ‘verse’ which connotes a back-formation from the word universe. Today, Metaverse appears to be one of the popular terms recently adopted, as it seems to be everywhere. The metaverse is a conjectured term off the internet, which describes an online 3D virtual environment through conventional personal computing, as well as virtual and augmented reality headsets. Metaverses, in some limited form, are already present on platforms like VRChat or video games like Second Life. Microsoft and Meta are the latest addition to the race to build the best virtual spaces for both consumers and businesses. With eyes on both technology companies for who gets the highest market share, users are looking out for the one that presents the most amazing virtual experiences.
Earlier in the week a mobile analytics firm App Annie released its 2022 Mobile Forecast Report which states that the metaverse mobile game apps will grow to reach over $3 billion in consumer spending in the coming year. App Annie has describes these metaverse games apps as platforms that allow users to interact in real-time. The report further forecasts that games like Minecraft and Roblox are products that have done very well in 2021 and would blow up with more consumer engagement in 2022. Metaverse apps continue to go on the rise.
The report also states that with Facebook’s (renamed to Meta) involvement to develop metaverse platforms, there would be more drive for the growth and demand for metaverse especially gaming apps. Recently the company announced that as part of its plan to continue to focus on its near future ambitions of developing the “metaverse,” it was rebranding to now be called Meta. In a live-streamed virtual and augmented reality conference, Meta CEO explained that the new name would go a long way to showcase its ambitions to build the metaverse, a growing ambition beyond social media services which it is set to conquer. Another company that has recently joined the race for Metaverse is Microsoft.
According to the mobile analytics firm App Annie, “Metaverse apps are immersive environments where you can co-create your world and interact in a social manner with friends.” The ability for these apps to be on smartphones has given users the ability to participate in a metaverse through their fingertips. This cements the immense role of mobile as an essential tool to deliver the forecast for virtual experiences within the gaming sector.
Other predictions by App Annie released in its 2022 Mobile Forecast Report predicts that popular social media app TikTok will surpass 1.5 billion active users, a height that took social apps like WhatsApp over 2 years to accomplish. App Annie’s data also predicted that TikTok will surpass 3 billion global downloads and $3 billion in global consumer spending across iOS and Google Play thanks to live streamers promoting in-app purchases. In August, TikTok was recognized as the most downloaded social media app across Android and iOS with a little over a billion users. TikTok jumped three places from its 2019 ranking to displace Facebook’s popular messaging app and WhatsApp in the latest ranking.
