The metaverse, which is in the early stages of development, could contribute up to $3.6 trillion per year in additional GDP by 2035 to the global economy, a new study commissioned by Facebook owner Meta Platforms and produced by Deloitte, said.
Enterprises, as part of their metaverse strategy, started making investment in augmented and virtual reality (AR and VR) technologies that allow users to immerse themselves in a virtual world or overlay information digitally on images of the real world.
Economic gains may come from the use of the technologies in the defense, medical and manufacturing sectors, plus entertainment use cases such as video games and communication.
Meta, which pivoted its focus on building metaverse technologies in 2021, has forecast the tech would eventually replace mobile as the main computing platform.
The metaverse could contribute as much as $760 billion or about 2.4 percent to U.S. annual gross domestic product (GDP) by 2035.
American businesses are using metaverse technologies to create new revenue streams and improve existing ones. US brands and retailers have already begun selling virtual versions of their products, in addition to the physical goods they already sell.
American companies are using the metaverse to market their physical goods and enable customers to try before they buy with virtual overlays.
American companies are starting to see signs of operational efficiencies in areas like training employees in immersive VR, improving remote work by making online interactions more life-like and creating virtual replicas to optimize physical processes.
For example, US companies are using digital twins to optimize the design of objects or buildings before their manufacturing or construction gets underway, offering the potential to save businesses time and money.
The metaverse could contribute between C$45.3 billion ($33.88 billion) and C$85.5 billion to Canada’s annual GDP by 2035.
The European Union may see an increased economic opportunity of up to 489 billion euros ($538.29 billion) in annual GDP by 2035 or about 1.3 percent–2.4 percent of its total GDP.
EU already has relatively high rates of business adoption for technologies like AR and VR — with rates in the EU (10 percent) higher than in the US (9 percent). Achievement of strong digital foundations is a key part of the European Commission’s Digital Decade vision.
European retail brands are exploring how they can connect with consumers in the metaverse. EU farmers are trialing how metaverse technology can improve production. European automotive manufacturers are developing VR-based systems to design and reconfigure their factories and training systems to improve safety and efficiency.
The Middle East and North Africa are on a journey of economic transformation and digitalization, and regional businesses and governments are showing a growing appetite for new digital and immersive tools.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia (KSA) are taking a leading role, investing in metaverse ecosystems. KSA is investing $1 billion in metaverse-related projects as it seeks to become a global technology hub.
Dubai has launched a Metaverse Strategy, aiming to turn Dubai into one of the world’s top 10 metaverse economies by focusing on innovation in tourism, real estate, education, retail and government services.
Metaverse technologies could bring significant benefits to the region’s economy, with the benefits to KSA’s economy potentially reaching $20.2 – $38.1 billion in additional GDP by 2035. In the UAE, those benefits could reach $8.8–$16.7 billion.
Last year’s analysis produced independently by Deloitte Centre for the Edge estimated that the impact of the metaverse to Asia Pacific GDP could be between US$0.8 and 1.4 trillion per year by 2035.
Japan, Taiwan and Korea all have VR industry ecosystems, and people are already learning, socializing, purchasing items, gaming and accessing social services on virtual platforms. Several governments in the region, including South Korea and Japan, have featured the metaverse in their economic plans.
Developing markets such as Thailand, India and Indonesia where VR technology is not yet commonplace, are leading the world with AR technology.
