Metaverse Digest: The latest global, enterprise and industrial developments

As 2023 rolls into 2024, many strands of the metaverse continue to weave their way into our digital interactions, including links to the current generative artificial intelligence wave. Our previews are key examples of this fusion. Our 2024 Trends in Internet of Things report includes both industrial and enterprise metaverse considerations, while 2024 Trends in Consumer Technology, Global Multichannel, Broadband & Mobile addresses the consumer side of the business-to-consumer equation. This is in context with the other wide-ranging advances in emerging technology that we cover — from infrastructure to attitudes.

Systems integrators and large consultancy firms are very much engaged in metaverse approaches. We see the industrial metaverse as a major driver in S&P survey data, which is also notable in the consultancy world. It is very much linked to the evolution of IoT digital twins, as per Amazon.com Inc.'s Amazon Web Services and NVIDIA Corp. partnership, which then leads to real-time industrial metaverse interactions. With the imminent Apple Vision Pro release, it is still important to note the high-end work of Varjo and Vrgineers building on industrial engineering accuracy. This exploration of these industrial applications will eventually impact the consumer experience. On that front, significant entertainment brands — Roblox, Fortnite, Sandbox, as well as custom venues — are looking for new audiences and virtual longevity. There is no single unifying place, but instead a universe of virtual experiences exploring the possibilities. Interoperable or not, these further seed metaverse growth, and are as valid as industrial needs.

Deloitte sees the industrial metaverse leading the way

The consulting company published a survey this month indicating that elements of the industrial metaverse are taking hold in that sector and that the benefits are clear for areas like manufacturing via engaging digital twins, AI and extended reality/spatial applications. This aligns with our survey data earlier in 2023, which saw manufacturing companies more likely to project high-range budgets of greater than $50 million for metaverse technology in 2024, compared with other sectors.

EY metaverse lab gains an industry award

Drum Awards are part of the marketing ecosystem, and at this year's event, EY won in the category Metaverse: Creator of the Year 2023. EY's metaverse lab developed its own EYVerse platform to examine how industry, enterprise and society can evolve in this emerging real-time digital landscape, including fusion with GenAI, digital twins and other emerging technologies. The company has already used the platform at scale internally, integrated into enterprise systems and security for onboarding and community activity with new hires and interns.

AWS digital twins for NVIDIA Omniverse

At its Las Vegas re:Invent show, AWS announced a deepening partnership with NVIDIA, including AWS IoT TwinMaker (its digital twin service connecting 3D models with real-world IoT data) working with NVIDIA Omniverse as the industrial metaverse platform to manage emerging standard OpenUSD-based 3D workflows, across multiple applications.

Varjo releases XR-4 headset

Varjo has been producing very high-resolution virtual reality and augmented reality headsets over the past few years aimed at high-end use cases such as vehicle cockpit simulation in a physical vehicle. It has been a pioneer of cameras being used to bring the outside world into what is, in effect, a VR headset to be enhanced digitally with extra information (AR/mixed reality). This is the approach Apple Inc. adopted for its Vision Pro, and Meta Platforms Inc. added to its Quest 3 headsets. The XR-4 is described as being indistinguishable from natural sight, with very low-latency cameras that are also gaze-directed and auto-focusing on the two 4K screens. The company is partnered with NVIDIA and Omniverse as an industrial metaverse platform.

Vrgineers gets $6 million series A for high-end XR

The company was founded in 2017 and is based in the US and Czech Republic. Vrgineers announced ongoing development of its XTAL headset (with a new model on the way) and accompanying platform for use cases such as high-end flight and vehicle simulation. It offers both pure VR and MR approaches, and its headset is known for its wide field of view. The $6 million series A was led by Taiwania Capital.

Fortnite expands its metaverse hub with Lego and Eminem

Epic Games Inc.'s Fortnite has evolved from its initial popular game of Battle Royale to a user-generated content platform with Unreal for Fortnite, as it attempts to take on Roblox Corp. This month, the platform hosted its own event aimed at players and users simultaneously experiencing it, to announce the expansion of its own gaming universe. In its short interactive montage, players were transported to a new Rocket League-based racing game, an entire Lego-partnered set of world experiences, and finally, a short concert experience featuring Eminem for its music-based festival experience. Epic had managed to draw back many of its early players by having a retro season in Fortnite OG with original maps and weapons. The three new games each offer a very different experience to the "run and gun" of the original. Its Lego partnership takes a swipe at its other competitor, Minecraft (owned by Microsoft Corp.), and the music festival provides fans with new interaction with artists and their music, powered by Epic, which now owns Harmonix, of Rockband, Guitar Hero and Dance Central fame.

Roblox hosts Cher for the holidays

Cher added a Christmas and New Year's experience for a limited time (Dec. 8 through Jan. 8) in Roblox, hosted by Warner and Gamefam. In the environment, players listened to new Christmas music from the artist "as she saves Christmas from a mischievous elf running wild in Harmony Hills." The shared experience was one that fans could host their own parties in.

Kiss follows ABBA into digital immortality

The US glam rock band took to the stage physically for the last time in a farewell concert, but they also revealed their future as avatars. Virtual Kiss follows the development of the ABBA Voyage venue where motion-captured, and de-aged, versions of the band play alongside live musicians. They are often called ABBAtars. The Kiss avatars were created by George Lucas' Industrial Light & Magic in partnership with Pophouse Entertainment, co-owned by ABBA's Björn Ulvaeus. An investment of $200 million to build the full experience has been reported.

Notorious B.I.G. enters Sandbox

Warner Music Group Corp. announced an experience in the Sandbox virtual world based on the late rapper Notorious B.I.G. It is described as an homage to the 2D side-scrolling games of the 1990s with elements of the streets of Brooklyn. WMG also plans to release a series of themed avatars. Meta previously hosted a Horizon Worlds concert featuring his work in December 2022.

Grand Theft Auto VI announced

More than 10 years since the release of Grand Theft Auto (GTA) V, Rockstar Games Inc. released the first trailer for the follow-up GTA VI as a YouTube video, which got a record-breaking 93 million views in its first 24 hours. The company was forced to release the video a few hours earlier than the countdown and marketing campaign had intended, due to the video being leaked. The game will not be out until 2025. The franchise has evolved with the gaming market and the capabilities of the devices. Aside from the single-player narrative of GTA V, it currently acts as the basis for GTA Online, a shared, constantly evolving multiuser virtual world, which has also helped maintain its longevity and revenue.

Metaverse by the numbers

Emerging metaverse platforms and technologies tracked by S&P Global Market Intelligence were back in the black in the third quarter as the consumer and commercial software segments both made significant strides, driving revenue up 5.5% year over year to an estimated $4.39 billion. The result snapped a four-quarter streak of year-over-year declines for the segment.

Metaverse-leaning video games such as Roblox and Fortnite are entering a new growth phase as improved creation tools and content expansion projects ramp up. Look for Lego Fortnite to make a significant impact on revenue in the months ahead. We are also seeing generative AI light up new metaverse revenue opportunities in the form of automated visualization tools.

^{This article was published by S&P Global Market Intelligence and not by S&P Global Ratings, which is a separately managed division of S&P Global.
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