We’ve gathered 30 metaverse statistics that demonstrate one key idea: the era of Web3 game development is here. Despite a tumultuous year for cryptocurrencies, interest in —  and funding for — developing experiences in the metaverse is abundant. Are you a game developer, NFT artist, or aspiring digital real estate mogul? Here are some metaverse statistics worth getting pumped about.

How much interest is there in the metaverse?

One of the major factors that make Web3 development so enticing right now is consumer interest. The following metaverse statistics show that people — especially young people — are excited about building and having experiences in the metaverse.

What does general interest look like?

• 18% of all internet-using adults would be “very interested” in attending a music event held in the metaverse. The numbers are even better for younger audiences: 29% for millennials and 24% for Gen Z respondents (Source).
• 33% of US adults are “curious” about the metaverse, and 18% are “excited” (Source).
• In January, 2022, 27 apps added “metaverse” to their name or keywords associated with the app. This is a 145% increase from October, 2021 (Source).
• There are currently 400 million monthly active users (MAUs) in the metaverse. These users are primarily distributed  amongst a few of the most popular worlds: Roblox  (210 million MAUs), Fortnite (80 million MAUs), and Minecraft (160 million MAUs). Notably, the average user age for these three most popular worlds is 12 – 13 years old (Source).
• Overall, 51% of the metaverse’s user base is under 13 years old. 83.5% is under 18 (Source).

What aspects of the metaverse are people interested in?

• In 2020, Lil Nas X performed in Roblox’s virtual world, attracting 33 million viewers over the course of 2 days. Later that year, Travis Scott had five similar performances in the Roblox world, with 27.7 million unique viewers (Source).
• There are currently 148 virtual worlds active or in development in the metaverse. In quarter 2 of this year, that number was 68 (Source). That’s a 217% increase within the year.
• Of the currently active virtual worlds, 83 of them are based on Web3 technology (Source).
• 85% of the market share for metaverse use is currently occupied by web2 browser-based worlds inhabited primarily by people under the age of 13. Only 1.3% are web3 based worlds (Source). This means that the vast majority of metaverse users (about 85%) are  not old enough to legally open a blockchain based account. This will, of course, not be the case in 5 years.
• The number of active wallets in The Sandbox, an Ethereum-based platform, increased 40% last month (Source).

What’s going on with Web3 gaming right now?

• Despite a rough year for cryptocurrencies, the number of Web3 gaming projects has actually increased about 31% since January (Source).
• In the third quarter of 2022, nearly half of all blockchain activity tracked by DappRadar came from Web3 gaming — this amounts to over 900,000 daily active wallets (DAW) in September alone (Source).
• Alien Worlds and Splinterlands are the most-played Web3 games, with over 160,000 DAW (Source).
• Gods Unchained, a Web3 trading card game, generated over $18 million with its in-game assets (Source).

How much money are people spending in the metaverse?

Digital economies are booming: people are spending a lot of money in and on virtual worlds. What’s more, according to the metaverse statistics we’ve found, digital spending is only going to increase over the next few years.

• Global metaverse market revenue exceeded $58 billion in 2021, and, with a CAGR of 43.7%, is expected to top $1.5 trillion by 2030 (Source).
• As of November, 2022, $1.9 billion has been spent on real estate in the ten most popular metaverse worlds. The highest sale price was $5 million.
• In May of 2021, a non-NFT digital version of a Gucci handbag sold for over $4,000. That’s more than the bag is worth in real life (Source).
• Consulting firm, McKinsey & Co. predicts that spending in the metaverse could reach $5 trillion by 2030 (Source).
• In a survey McKinsey conducted of 3,104 consumers across 11 countries, 79% of respondents indicated that they have already spent money in the metaverse as it currently exists. 47% made in-game purchases, 37% bought virtual cosmetic items, and 33% on real-world items purchased through digital platforms (Source).
• Of 448 C Level executives McKinsey polled, 95% of them expect the metaverse to lead to positive impacts on their respective industries within 5 – 10 years. 25% predict metaverse sales driving up to 15% of their total margin growth within 5 years (Source).
• While total sales in the virtual world sector decreased about 29%, the total number of sales actually increased 40%, indicating that demand for these products and services does exist (Source).
• In 2021, Chipotle’s “Boorito” campaign in the Roblox world attracted 6 million unique participants, and in-store sales associated with the event surpassed those of previous Halloween sales campaigns (Source).

What funding exists for developing apps in the metaverse?

How can you get in on the boom? Funding for Web3 development is especially abundant according to metaverse statistics we’ve found.

What funding opportunities currently exist?

• EON Reality has a program offering over $1 billion in grants for metaverse solutions to post-pandemic education loss to be implemented at local, regional, and national scales (Source).
• $80 million in funding is available for developers who work to expand on the web3 game My Neighbor Alice and its associated networks (Source).
• Game7 has pledged $100 million in grants to developers building web3 games for the metaverse. These grants are paid out in $1,000 increments over the course of three months to help mitigate operation costs for game development.  (Source).
• This year, Andreessen Horowitz launched a $600 million fund dedicated to gaming startups focused on web3 development. The fund, Games Fund One, will focus on three areas: studios, applications, and infrastructures (Source).

What major funding has taken place recently?

• In 2022, eFuse, a professional hub for esports and videogames, raised $981.7 million from 48 distinct investors (Source).
• Investors funnelled $748 million into Web3 gaming development between August and September, 2022, a 135% increase from investments in July (Source).
• As of September, 2022, total investment in Web3 gaming is estimated at $10 billion, more than double the $4 billion invested in 2021 (Source).
• Investors have spent $107 billion funding indie game developers in 2022 (Source).
• During the first quarter of 2022, web3 game developers raised $2.5 billion in funding (Source).
• 57% of all blockchain funding in 2022 went to web3 startups (Source).
• For the third quarter in a row, there were more than 150 deals in NFTs, metaverse, and gaming (Source).
• Venture Capitalists are the leading source of Web3 development funding, owning 22% of the total funding. Other key players include corporations (15%) and angel investors (14%) (Source).