Building the metaverse: three waves of developments, five monetisation routes for operators

The metaverse is still in its infancy, but the pace of developments and announcements has accelerated in the last 12 months. Despite scepticism from some companies or investors on the metaverse in general and specifically on how the business case will play out (investments versus returns), this space will continue to capture interest and activity in 2023 and beyond. In this report, we review the state of the metaverse and its future outlook across various areas, including major developments and trends, the companies driving momentum and early use cases in the consumer and enterprise markets.

Building on our consumer survey, we analyse consumer awareness of the metaverse across major developed countries and their views on the online activities that will benefit the most from the metaverse.

Finally, we delve into operator strategies and expectations for the metaverse. Our survey of 100 operators worldwide reveals important insights into what operators think about the metaverse opportunity and where they are with their metaverse strategies. To help operators navigate the nascent metaverse opportunity we identify and compare five main monetisation routes while shining light on what major operators such as SK Telecom, Telefónica and Verizon are doing in the metaverse space.