Metaverse key prospective use cases
Metaverse is a broad concept. Below are the key areas, such as games, working environment, tourism, education, etc. where thousands of VR developers from all over the world are already working.
Games
The gaming industry is seen as one of the core investors and popularizers of metaverse technology. Metaverse technology was first implemented in the world of computer games, and this is not surprising, since it allows players to interact with other participants in a single virtual interoperable environment.
Projects as The Sandbox, Axie Infinity, Sorare, and many others are already successfully operating. For instance, Axie Infinity has over 350,000 active daily users. The goal of the game is to collect “Smooth Love Potions” (SLPs). SLPs act like cryptocurrencies that can be bought and sold on a crypto exchange. Top players can earn 1,500 SLP per day ($435) on their “Axies”, although the SLP to dollar exchange rate is constantly changing.
Metaverse games have some specific characteristics:
- The game product acts as a platform that provides gameplay flexibility and allows participants to create their own content and games within and according to the rules of a specific metaverse.
- Games represent a fully-fledged social environment in which it is possible to contact other users; this fundamentally distinguishes metaverse games from regular VR games.
- The ability to play and earn cryptocurrency is the defining economic component of metaverse gaming, so now the gameplay can bring not only mental but also material satisfaction.
- Due to the compatibility of the metaverse architecture, the portability of in-game NFT assets ensures permanent ownership of specific digital assets.
- A mixed reality experience allows players to easily and seamlessly switch between different formats of interaction with the virtual environment.
Working environment
The growing popularity of metaverse technology is bringing significant changes to the traditional business processes. Projects that are being rolled out today will enable:
- Remote work in virtual space. The introduction of the metaverse will make the employee’s physical presence in the office unnecessary.
- Interaction with colleagues in workrooms. With the advent of virtual offices and the development of metaverse technology, communication and collaboration in coworking spaces will be realized via virtual reality devices, and the traditional office will become obsolete.
- Organization of remote meetings. Today, these meetings are conducted on Skype and Zoom, but thanks to the development of metaverse technology they will one day be held in a virtual room, where each participant will be present as an avatar.
Many companies are already working on the creation of virtual business infrastructure. Virtual office companies include well-known, billion-dollar corporations like Nike, McDonald’s, YouTube, The Walt Disney Company, and Intel, alongside small but ambitious startups such as Inworld AI, Upland, and Gravity Sketch.
Tourism
One of the most forward-looking ways to use metaverse is virtual tourism. Technology lets you travel in a virtual space, so you don’t have to physically visit the locations that excite you. Experts claim that the creation of an immersive digital environment combining virtual and augmented reality will be a breakthrough in the field of virtual tourism. A digital space filled with realistic content may become a product that will, in part, replace traditional tourism.
We’re already witnessing the start of 360-degree virtual tours. However, with the introduction of the metaverse technology, you will not just watch the video tour recorded by a guide, but actually be present in the tourist location you are interested in. Moreover, you can visit this place with your family and friends, which will make your experience all the more realistic.
Imagine for a moment that you are walking among the paintings of Van Gogh or Picasso in the metaverse gallery: it’s not hard to appreciate how the introduction of the metaverse could transform the tourism landscape.
Virtual reality has already gained significant traction in the sector. For example, with the help of Visualize, Thomas Cook launched the Virtual Reality Holiday ‘Try Before You Fly’ service, which allowed potential tourists to visit holiday destinations in virtual reality. Having experienced this service, the customer could decide whether they wanted to go on a real trip. The results were stunning. For example, the number of booked tours in New York doubled after people went on a 5-minute journey in virtual reality.
Education
The educational potential of the metaverse looks just as promising. Metaverse technology is fundamentally changing the approach to learning. Virtual reality can bring the visual component of the educational process to a qualitatively new level, allowing students to ‘live’ a specific experience, which provides more intensive and high-quality assimilation of knowledge than traditional classroom training.
The metaverse can transform the learning process and create a truly effective learning environment. Just imagine an astronomy lesson that takes place not in a classroom, but in a spaceship.
We should mention that the virtual learning environment might also eliminate the language barrier. The technology could allow people from different countries to study in a single virtual space without social or linguistic complications.
The introduction of the metaverse school and virtual learning space will enable people from the most remote corners of the world to receive a quality education in conditions perfectly adapted for the assimilation of new knowledge and experience. For example, Microsoft has created Mesh, a mixed reality platform where students, faculty and staff can interact using their 3D avatars. They will be able to use Microsoft HoloLens to interact in an immersive classroom or see avatars in a traditional video conference. It’s therefore clear that the question of how to use metaverse in education has dozens of good answers.
Fashion
As one of the most progressive areas of the economy, the fashion industry is actively introducing new trends related to the metaverse technology. The most striking example is Gucci, which created the “Metaverse design” category on Roblox. Users can already buy exclusive outfits from the famous fashion house on the gaming platform.
A while ago a digital Gucci bag was sold for $4,000 on the platform, an indication that the virtual fashion industry is already becoming a significant source of profit for the leading market players.
In light of the increasing popularity of NFTs, the day will come soon when the exclusive virtual collections of all famous fashion houses will be sold for millions of dollars on numerous fashion websites and in virtual boutiques.
Shopping
Many entrepreneurs these days are keen on the potential of virtual reality, insisting that online shopping will soon evolve from a two-dimensional interaction into an amazing virtual experience. This experience will be free of the limitations of the physical world — but will still retain its advantages, such as the chance to try on, feel, and test the product or to get online advice from the seller.
Similarly, many experts believe that one of the most promising applications of metaverse technology is virtual shopping, which offers the possibility of becoming the owner of the purchased product or service in the real world. In the near future, it will no longer be necessary to visit malls. At the same time, virtual shopping in a metaverse supermarket will replace online shopping.
Zara has presented its first collection for people and avatars. Physical and virtual models can now be purchased at network stores anywhere in the world. The collection was developed in collaboration with a South Korean clothing brand, Ader Error.
In the ADERERRORXZARA virtual store on the Zepeto platform, all the items from the innovative collection are available. Thus the famous Spanish retailer is taking its first step into Web 3.0. The Zepeto platform is an incredibly popular meta-universe with more than 200 million users and a high growth rate over the past year.
Nike too has boarded the virtual goods train. The company has already opened Nikeland, a virtual showroom on the Roblox gaming platform where visitors can dress up their avatars in Nike apparel and shoes. At Nike’s virtual headquarters, users will be able to socialize, compete in different sports, and create their own mini-games. The sportswear giant also announced the acquisition of digital sneaker maker RTFKT.
Social networks/entertainment
With a push from some energetic promotion, the metaverse technology will radically change the world of social networks and online entertainment. This is because in the metaverse users get a much deeper immersion in the digital space than in the traditional messengers and blogs.
If social networks and metaverse entertainment platforms currently equate to two-dimensional ecosystems, soon they will evolve into full-fledged metaverses and become separate virtual planets, where people will spend time not chatting or scrolling through the photos, but communicating through their avatars or virtual clones.
Facebook has already changed its name to META, an obvious signal of the direction in which the largest social networks will develop. And with the arrival of widely available virtual reality tools, we will see an explosive development in this area and a massive transition of users from the traditional web to the metaverses.
Real estate
One of the core features of the metaverse is its ability to provide a client with the ultimate virtual reality experience. It’s no surprise that in a market niche as profitable as a metaverse property sale this option can be used in order to optimize the display of buildings for sale/rent.
The estate agents don’t have to travel to the site, and the clients don’t need to waste their time viewing dozens of houses, apartments, offices, or shops. Prospective buyers will instead be able to take a metaverse real estate tour, which will be almost indistinguishable from the experience of actually being there on the premises. Any client will be able to explore all options in real-time.
Moreover, a virtual tour can be adapted to specific tastes. Design, scaling, and soundtrack can all be customized for the individual client. In addition, augmented reality in the form of popups will make a metaverse virtual real estate site visit even more informative and useful.
In the four largest metaverses (Sandbox, Decentraland, Cryptovoxels, and Somnium), virtual real estate sales exceeded $500 million last year, and there is every chance they will reach the $1 billion mark this year. Brandessence market research experts predict that from 2022 to 2028 the market will grow by 31% annually.
At present about 100 Fantasy Islands are being developed in the Sandbox metaverse. They have villas with amenities such as boats and jet skis. Ninety islands were sold, at an average of $15,000. Some had a price tag of $100,000. Meanwhile, Republic Realm has reportedly paid a record $4.3 million for virtual land.