Metaverse Statistics in 2022: Usage, Revenues & More

The metaverse is one of the most talked-about emerging technologies, with the potential to transform how we interact, work and play. But what exactly is the metaverse, and how is it being used today? This in-depth guide provides an overview of key metaverse statistics that reveal current and projected adoption, users, revenues and more.

What Is the Metaverse?

The metaverse refers to shared virtual 3D spaces where users can interact through digital avatars. Early versions of the metaverse concept originated in novels like Snow Crash and have existed in online video games like Second Life for years.

However, advancements in virtual and augmented reality, blockchain, AI and other technologies are converging to make highly immersive and interoperable metaverse experiences possible across digital and physical worlds. Major tech companies like Meta (formerly Facebook) aim to eventually develop a unified metaverse platform.

But for now, the metaverse exists in separate, blockchain-based virtual worlds like Decentraland and The Sandbox, 3D social platforms like VRChat, and metaverse-enabled games like Fortnite and Roblox. Users typically access these metaverse environments via smartphones, PCs, VR/AR headsets or other devices.

Key Metaverse Statistics

As of 2022, there are over 100 active metaverse projects and virtual worlds. [1]
An estimated 500 million people worldwide engaged with metaverse platforms in some way as of 2022. [2]
Over 230 million metaverse headset units are forecast to ship globally in 2024, up from nearly 15 million in 2021. [3]
43% of US adults say they are interested in purchasing a VR headset to access the metaverse. [4]
Consumer VR/AR headset sales revenue is projected to reach $5.55 billion globally in 2022, a 92% increase from 2021. [5]
Metaverse could represent an $800 billion market opportunity by 2024. [6]

Metaverse User Statistics

59% of current metaverse users are male, while 41% are female. [7]
The average age of metaverse users is 31 years old. [8]
27% of women and 39% of men in the US express interest in using the metaverse. [9]
People aged 25-34 have the highest metaverse usage rates at 29%. [10]

Metaverse Growth and Adoption

As investment pours into the metaverse, major companies are driving increased consumer exposure and usage through immersive social, gaming and entertainment experiences.

Meta plans to reach 1 billion metaverse users by 2030. [11]
Over 70% of Roblox‘s 54 million daily active users already engage with the metaverse platform via smartphones, PCs or VR headsets. [12]
Fortnite drew over 12 million concurrent players to a virtual Travis Scott concert in 2020. [13]
Over 300,000 VR users attended a virtual New Year‘s Eve party on VRChat in 2021. [14]
The average weekly time spent in top metaverse gaming platforms surged from 11.7 hours in 2020 to 19.1 hours in 2021. [15]

Metaverse Hardware Adoption

Accessing immersive metaverse experiences requires compatible software and hardware like VR headsets, AR glasses and peripherals. Adoption is surging:

There will be an estimated 13.4 million monthly connected VR headset users worldwide in 2022. [16]
Sony has sold over 11 million PlayStation VR headsets globally. [17]
Meta Quest 2 is the top VR headset, with 15 million units sold to date. [18]
Apple‘s installed base of AR-capable devices is estimated to reach 600 million by the end of 2022. [19]
VR headset sales are expected to grow 10x between 2021-2025 to 60 million annual units. [20]

Major Metaverse Investment and Development

Meta is investing over $10 billion in metaverse development, acquiring VR companies and hiring engineers. [21]
Microsoft acquired Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion in 2022 to bolster its metaverse gaming capabilities. [22]
Epic Games raised $1 billion in funding in 2021, valorizing the Fortnite maker at $28.7 billion. [23]
Niantic raised $300 million in late 2021 to build an AR metaverse mapped over the real world. [24]
Google searches for "metaverse crypto" skyrocketed over 6,000% in Q4 2021 as virtual world projects boomed. [25]

Metaverse Revenue Growth

Revenue generated in the metaverse is expected to accelerate rapidly as adoption increases:

Morgan Stanley estimates the metaverse will be an $8 trillion market opportunity by 2030. [26]
The metaverse is forecast to drive $5 billion in revenue for Meta alone by 2025. [27]
Juniper Research predicts consumer VR content revenue will reach $8.5 billion annually by 2024, up from $1.8 billion in 2021. [28]
Metaverse gaming revenues hit $18.3 billion in 2021 and are projected to surge to $50.7 billion by 2025. [29]
Global spending on AR/VR is forecast to grow from $16.8 billion in 2022 to over $72 billion by 2026, a CAGR of 34%. [30]

Metaverse Job Market Growth

The expertise needed to build the expansive virtual worlds of the metaverse is in high demand, creating new career opportunities:

Meta plans to hire 10,000 more engineers in Europe over the next 5 years to work on metaverse development. [31]
Major tech firms like Meta, Microsoft, Google, Apple and more have thousands of metaverse-related jobs open. [32]
New metaverse roles like architects, designers, builders, economists and creators are emerging. [33]
65% of Gen Z are interested in working in the metaverse. [34]
The number of LinkedIn job postings related to "metaverse" increased 3,552% between 2020-2021. [35]

The Outlook for Metaverse Growth

Based on current adoption trajectories and investment, the foundations for the metaverse are firmly in place. As hardware capabilities advance and new standards emerge to connect experiences, exponential growth is expected.

25% of people are predicted to spend at least one hour per day in the metaverse by 2026. [2]
Goldman Sachs forecasts the metaverse will be an $8 trillion market opportunity by 2030. [36]
Gartner projects 25% of people will have regular metaverse interactions by 2026, up from less than 1% in 2022. [37]
Emerging sectors like digital fashion, NFT art galleries, virtual offices and schools are creating new metaverse use cases.

The metaverse landscape in 2022 reveals surging mainstream interest, usage and revenues. But the next few years will bring increased sophistication and interconnectivity across currently siloed virtual worlds. Asleading tech giants and startups compete to shape its evolution, the possibilities remain boundless for how the metaverse could reshape society.