After adjusting following the surge in popularity back in 2021, the metaverse sector is once again showing a solid upward trajectory
According to Statista’s report “Metaverse: How it’s shaping up”, the industry’s global revenue is projected to rise from $17.5 billion to $54.5 billion by 2028—a growth of 212% over five years.
This growth, however, will not be uniform. It will largely depend on the expansion of VR and AR hardware, the adoption of mobile AR technologies, and trends in video gaming, digital commerce, and online education.
The research highlights several key drivers of expansion:
Statista forecasts an average annual market growth rate of 25.5% from 2023 to 2028, positioning the metaverse among the most promising areas of the digital economy—on par with the early-stage growth of AI and cloud technologies.
Although the metaverse is often associated with persistent virtual worlds, video games form its economic backbone. In 2024, revenue from metaverse gaming reached $20.8 billion, with expectations to surge to $168 billion by 2030, according to Statista.
Roblox exemplifies this trend, boasting over 111 million daily active users in 2025. The platform has become a key space for social interaction, creativity, and monetization—users build virtual worlds, participate in online concerts, and earn within the digital economy of the metaverse.
Virtual commerce is rapidly gaining traction. In 2024, the market reached $30.5 billion, and projections indicate an additional $180 billion growth by 2030.
Fashion, entertainment, and consumer goods brands are experimenting with virtual showrooms, 3D fitting rooms, and interactive online stores with secure payments and mobile integration. The expansion of mobile augmented reality (AR) is expected to reach 1.19 billion users by 2028, serving as a major driver for digital commerce growth.
Interest in virtual worlds varies widely across countries:
Overall awareness remains low. As of March 2024, only one in ten American adults reported being familiar with the concept of the “metaverse,” while 43% associated it solely with platforms like Facebook or Instagram. This knowledge gap poses challenges for companies aiming to establish a presence in virtual reality and digital platforms.
Users in the U.S. and U.K. prioritize:
Statista identifies several levers for growth: reducing the cost of VR/AR hardware, expanding content diversity, and strengthening user data protection and privacy.
Interest in NFTs and Web3 tokens (e.g., Decentraland’s MANA) peaked in 2021. By 2024, investments in metaverse projects fell to $1.8 billion, a 38% decrease from the previous year.
The market has undergone a correction: speculative assets have lost appeal, and focus has shifted toward practical immersive experiences, such as virtual concerts, educational programs, and collaborative online spaces.
Despite waning interest in cryptocurrencies, Statista data confirms that the metaverse continues to hold potential in core sectors:
For brands, the focus should be on building accessible, visually rich, and socially engaging formats rather than attempting to create fully virtual worlds, which have not yet reached mainstream adoption.
